Commuter challenge

CONDITIONS were ideal. A grim February morning compounded by driving rain. The three-way commuter combat (scooter v Tube v car) began in Wimbledon and ended in Kensington High Street in varying but predictable degrees of satisfaction and unbridled frustration.

At 8:10am, the eye of the morning rush-hour, the three combatants left a house in SW19 and headed into the teeth of a ferocious gale. "The traffic will be dead slow and stop in this weather," said Mark, on a Vespa.

Deedee was worried her shortcut through the park to Wimbledon Tube station would be impassable on account of mud. "I've ruined shoes before in that park," she said.

Craig was simply relieved he would be sitting in a warm BMW while the other two faced the elements.

There was a time when a property a mere half marathon away from a Tube or train station was "highly sought-after". Now even estate agents are finding it hard to sell "proximity to transport amenities" with anything like their traditional conviction. Truth is, there are better ways to spend a morning than waiting for trains that never arrive or for Mayor Ken and his crew to find light at the end of the tunnel. In the meantime, commuters are finding their own solutions. Why rely on other people to ruin your journey when you can easily do it yourself?

"Chaos, innit," said a despatch rider in Fulham Palace Road. It was impossible to disagree, but at least it was moving chaos for Mark on his Vespa, weaving his way through the jam. Craig wasn't laughing. "This is ridiculous," he seethed. "We are doing this as an exercise, but if I was actually late for work and sitting in this lot, I'd do me nut." Plenty were.

But plenty of others are buying scooters. Last year, 70,603 scooters were sold, 40 per cent more than in 1999. According to the AA, the total annual running cost for a 10-mile each-way trip on a 50cc scooter, including depreciation, clothing, fuel, the lot, is 846. A yearly season ticket from Wimbledon to High Street Kensington is 896. The car?

Anything from 2,148 for an 1100cc micro-miser to 7,890 for a three- litre - and that is without parking charges (reckon on 3,000pa minimum).

The list of advantages goes on: a scooter gets you door-to-door. And you don't have to wait for it to turn up or share it with so many people that your nose is pressed right up against your helmet visor. But money is only half the deal. Time saved is stress avoided. Including parking up, Mark and Vespa took 31 minutes door-to-door, Deedee and London Underground twice as long and Craig and car, one hour and 26 minutes. Rounded up, that is 28 days per year for the return journey.

"Even if I had not saved time," said Mark, "I can't handle being stuck in a car or on a train anymore. Although you have to concentrate hard all the time in traffic, it actually frees your mind and you arrive at work alert, but at the same time relaxed."

Deedee was less relaxed. "I'm in a bad mood. I'm wet, the park was like a bog and the Tube was packed so I couldn't read," she said. "But there was no signal failure at Earl's Court for once - I couldn't believe it."

Craig was even less impressed. "It was absolutely solid. I did all the chancy stuff rat runs here, bus lane there. You have to be aggressive or you just don't get anywhere at all, and that increases anger and frustration."

There it is then - a scooter takes half as much time as the Tube and roughly a third of the time it takes by car. There must be a catch.

There is. A tiny one. Parking is getting harder to find as more and more scooters hit the road. But the more enlightened councils are beginning to see scooters and motorcycles as a real solution to congestion problems. Most riders are happy to consider paying a small fee (bike parks are free right now) in exchange for more parking with better security.

So, Mark and his scooter trounced all-comers in environmentally- friendly fashion, with a high degree of style. And the rider remained emotionally well-adjusted at all times.

Copyright 2001
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