Anyone out on the streets early in the morning during the school
year has probably seen the procession of swimmers riding their
scooters to practice while it’s still dark out.
And considering how economical, practical and trendy motor
scooters are right now, more and more students are buying these
vehicles to make their daily commute to school what
many users say is easier and more fun.
“Before, scooters used to be something that I saw among my
teammates and some of the other sports, but now scooter lots are
getting more full each quarter,” said third-year English
student and swimmer Kendall Butler. “It used to be easy to
park near Ackerman (Union), and now it can be hard.”
According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, motor scooter
sales grew 533 percent between 1998 and 2002, and Vespa scooter
sales have nearly doubled each year since returning to the United
States in 2000.
Pressed with the difficulty and expense of parking on campus and
in Westwood, many students find scooters to be a sensible
alternative to cars ““ most of the on-campus parking lots have
scooter parking, and there is no need to pay quarterly parking fees
or for metered parking.
“(I started to consider buying a scooter) during spring
quarter when I got my seventh parking ticket,” said
second-year history student Katie Nelson. “I decided that I
didn’t want to pay for parking tickets or parking anymore
““ it’s too expensive to have a car here.”
And with the recent rise in gas prices, people have become much
more aware of how much it costs to have an automobile. Compared to
a car, the amount of money spent on gas for a scooter each week is
virtually insignificant. Butler, who uses her scooter virtually
every day to go to swim practice, class and Westwood, spends just
$2 a week on gas.
But it isn’t just the practicality of scooters that is
capturing the attention of students. It’s also their
aesthetics.
“I first got interested in scooters when I saw the water
polo girls driving around with them, and I thought it was
cute,” said second-year undeclared student Amber Ray.
“I didn’t think about it before I saw them ““ I
didn’t even know what (a scooter) was until I was at
UCLA.”
Frederico Musi, head of marketing at Piaggio USA, the
manufacturer of the Vespa scooter, attributes part of the new
popularity of scooters to the influence Hollywood may have over
city-dwelling students.
Scooters have also made their way into magazines and onto the
big screen. This summer, InStyle Magazine featured Gwyneth Paltrow
riding a Vespa in London. Vespas also made appearances in the
recent films “Saved!” and “Under the Tuscan
Sun.”
“People in huge urban areas are more trend- and
image-driven ““ whether it’s European or retro
trends,” Musi said.
But Musi also said the current interest in scooters is more than
just a passing fad and is the result of people frustrated with
urban planning and traffic in cities.
“In general, traffic and population are growing much
faster than what the infrastructures of most cities in America are
made for,” Musi said. “So, as cities are becoming much
more similar to European cities, people are looking for alternative
means of transportation. Scooters will possibly become as popular
as they are in Europe.”
Piaggio first introduced the scooter to Italy in 1946 in order
to provide Italians recovering from World War II with a new mode of
transportation that was both fun and economical. The name Vespa
originated when people started calling them wasps (in Italian
“vespa”) because of their appearance.
Vespa scooters made their debut in America in 1951, but, in
1985, when they failed to meet the increased demands of the
Environmental Protection Agency, Piaggio had to temporarily stop
selling them in the United States. Now, scooters are also more
environment-friendly ““ Vespas exceed the California Air
Resources Board standards for noise and exhaust emissions.
Recognizing student interest in scooters, Piaggio plans to
release a new, smaller scooter that is designed for younger users
this October.
Everything from individuality to image to affordability is a
factor when students make their decision about what scooter to
buy.
“People want to differentiate themselves from the
masses,” Musi said. “Even what color (scooter) you pick
says something about yourself.”
When choosing a scooter, Nelson opted to pass on the trendy
Vespa and settle with the Japanese-made Honda Elite.
A new Vespa will run anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000, though
Honda Elites tend to cost in the ballpark of $2,000.
“Vespas are from Europe, so like Porsches and Ferraris in
cars, they are more attractive,” said Red Hoium, a
salesperson at Long Beach Honda Yamaha Sea DOO Kawasaki.
“However, Yamaha makes scooters that look like Vespas, and
Japanese-made scooters tend to last longer than anyone will ever
ride them, and they’re cheaper.”
But scooters need to be made well in order to survive being
on a college campus for several years.
Between having cars back into it and being knocked over by
drunken party-goers wandering around Westwood, the mirror on
Butler’s scooter has been knocked off several times.
“The engine still runs really well, but it doesn’t
look as nice,” she said. “Finding a safe place to park
it is something to think about.”
Other students worry about the risk of driving a scooter on the
same road as cars.
“(My biggest concern with buying a scooter is) the safety
aspect,” Ray said. “My parents are concerned about the
danger of being on big roads with other cars.”
Before driving a scooter, students need to take a written test
in order to get an M2 permit from the DMV; but the permit does not
allow people to drive at night or with a passenger. In order to get
the full California moped license, students under age 21 need to
take a motorcycle safety class, while students over age 21 have the
option of taking the class or a driving test.
“I’m excited about taking the motorcycle safety
class,” Ray said. “It’s like getting your license
again, but it’s new and different with a scooter.”
But Butler cautions interested students not to rush into buying
a scooter.
“I would definitely recommend scooters, but wait until
you’ve been at UCLA a few quarters to get to know the area,
and make sure you really want one,” Butler said. “After
the experience of walking around campus for a year, I appreciate
the scooter more.”
Though Butler also tends to stay around campus and in Westwood
with her scooter, she knows people who use it to go all the way to
Third Street in Santa Monica and to the beach.
“When you buy a Vespa, you get so much stuff done that you
would not have realized,” Musi said. “It’s easy
to park, it’s fun, and it gives you freedom ““ it makes
your daily commute fun rather than boring and stressful.”