Saturday, October 24, 2009

Electric scooters

The best way to see many parts of Taiwan is by rented motorcycle, preferably a 125cc Vespa-type machine that's easy to ride (no clutch, no gear changes) and easy to park whenever you spot something of interest.

In this Taipei Times article, it's reported that the ministries of transport and economic affairs are working together to rid some of Taiwan's minor islands of petrol-burning motorcycles and replace them with electric scooters. The latter are, of course, much better for the environment and far quieter. I think it's a great idea and hope it happens. Green Island reportedly has 6,000 motorcycles registered for a population of around 2,700, because so many scooter-rental businesses serve incoming tourists.

4 comments:

  1. Interesting, but they don't address the issue of where the electricity to charge the batteries will come from. If they rely on diesel generators to recharge the batteries the only benefit is reducing noise and roadside pollution. It doesn't actually reduce the total carbon emissions though. They need to use solar or wind power to do that.

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  2. David,

    You're right. I don't know where the various islands get their electricity, but a lot of Penghu's already comes from wind turbines.

    I believe (I may be mistaken) that electric vehicles using electricity produced by fossil fuels produce less CO2 than gasoline-burning vehicles because they don't waste as much energy when stopped at red lights etc.

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  3. I think they should have a total solution, something that greener such as solar or wind energy.

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