In this article, we are going to look sustainable commuting and the environmental impact of hiring a petrol driven Piaggio Liberty 125.

Wheels to Work is a service that helps people who struggle with transport get to and from work, education, or training.

Pathway for the Transport Industry

The Government published its Transport Decarbonisation Plan in July 2021, which shared their pathway for the transport industry to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 within the UK.

Transportation is responsible for more than a quarter of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, causing it to be the highest form of pollution since 2016. In fact, there has been little change with emissions since the 1990s –
apart from during 2020…

We have seen an estimated 3.8% increase year on year following the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic where emissions
were at a record low.

Carbon Footprint by Mode of Transport

key: CO2e = CO2 emissions

In the UK, the average petrol-based car produces the equivalent of 170.5 grams of CO2e per km whereas a diesel-based car which produces roughly 170.8 CO2e per km. A battery-powered electric car produces around 51.4 g
CO2e per km, considerably less than its fuel-driven counterparts.

On the opposite end of the scale, we can see that travelling by rail and coach are the most efficient ways of travelling.

Trains produce an average of 35g CO2e per passenger km, and travelling by coach is the lowest of all producing roughly 27g CO2e per passenger km.

Wheels to Work Carbon Footprint

With this data in mind, we decided to do some research ourselves on the emissions produced through scooter hire using current Wheels to Work customers and see how it compares to the UK average.

Our customers travel to and from work on Piaggio Liberty 125s. We measured the distances they travel over a calendar month; some varied from just under 100 miles up to 850 miles per month, with customers working in a
variety of sectors from the care industry to hospitality and logistics.

The number of journeys our customers took during the same period vary from 20 to 364, using less than 10 litres of fuel up to just under 30 litres.

Based on these details, we have calculated the average emissions produced per customer km is roughly 29g C02e, which is vastly lower than diesel and petrol cars and considerably lower than battery electric vehicle cars.

A Wheels to Work customer uses less emissions travelling on a scooter rather than a train, but not as little as a passenger travelling on a coach. However, the flexibility benefits of travel on a scooter would far outweigh the limitations of timetables and restrictive routes on a coach.

Bike to Work

More businesses are encouraging employees to choose economical and efficient ways of travelling to work by incorporating car share or the Bike2Work scheme.

These are great schemes which we wouldn’t discourage; cycling and car share works well for many people, however problems can arise when the person you are car-sharing with is on holiday or sick unless employers have a car share contingency plan in place.

Cycling is also a convenient and healthy way to travel if you live within cycling distance of your work, however some people need to travel further using busier roads. They also may feel more vulnerable which is where a petrol driven scooter would fit in well.

This article should provide employers, business owners and potential customers with enough information to choose the most suitable transport for their needs, but there’s no doubt a scooter has benefits across the board.

Wheels to Work

Wheels to Work provide 50cc and 125cc scooters in Northants, Bucks, Beds, Berks, Warks, Leics, Shrops, Notts, and Oxon to support our customers get to and from their place of work.

For further details, please call 01327 857213 or email info@wheelstowork.net.