Would I be crazy to get a moped?

[WhatsOnTv]

I haven't done much driving in my life, haven't needed to as I've lived in London. Passed my driving test years ago but never got round to buying a car.
I've moved to a smaller town and still don't drive but I'm applying for a new job where I will need to. It will be mostly short journeys 2-3 times a day.
I don't have lots of spare cash ATM and I'm wondering if I could get away with getting a moped instead of a car. I was thinking this because I've cycled a lot and am more comfortable on a bike than in a car.

Is this a stupid idea?

Yabu - bad idea
Yanbu - not a bad idea

My son has a Vespa. No wat could you store the protective gear plus helmet in a box unless it’s huge. Also he doesn’t use it in the winter or bad weather - one bad accident due to black ice (broken colllar bone and wrist) and he has wised up.

With the state of the roads, I would not get a moped.
However you can get a decent Nissan Micra for less than £2k. Just needs the cheapest insurance. Buy carefully and you can get one with recent tyres and a long mot.

E-bikes are amazing. Keep on top of the battery being charged and there is almost no effort to getting around. You will travel almost as fast as a vehicle. Perhaps see if you can hire one to try it out? I rode a Vespa for over 10 years. These days I would go with an e-bike over a scooter.

An ebike would mean you can use shared cycle paths and be off road more; a moped is quite underpowered to be in busy traffic / on roundabouts. I would see if you could hire one to try out the journey.

As an added problem, I spoke to someone today who is already doing the job I am interviewing for. She had a hefty looking bag with wheels. I'm not sure it will be practical to carry that amount on an ebike and probably not a moped either. Although some do have underseat storage

What about an e-trike?

My partner had a vespa to commute for a number of years. The amount of accidents and near misses encountered was unbelievable. Some car drivers can be complete dickheads and down right dangerous, especially if you are in a queue of traffic and they think you are cheating if you get ahead like pulling over to block the road). Once an independent witness filmed the dickhead behaviour. The police were not interested.

Hi I have never driven a car but a couple of years ago I fancied getting a bit of independence other than public transport. I did my CBT. It took two days for me as it took ages for me to get used to the balancing, but once you’ve got that it’s really fun.

I then bought myself a Vespa. I loved it and only, sadly, had to sell it due to medical issues which involved fainting once or twice and I felt that I wasn’t safe and couldn’t continue in good conscience.

Do your CBT and see how you get on.

Can I ask what kind of area you lived in, was it a small or large place, lots of traffic etc?

Oooh, that might be an option if I could find a cheapish one

Did you feel safe apart from your illness though?
How was it in bad weather?

I had a moped when I turned 16 as we lived 3 miles from the nearest bus stop, it was fab. Cheap to run, tax and insure and gave independence and practice on the roads.

You can get backpacks with pull out handles and wheels if you will need a wheely bag for throughout the day, that way you wear it while you ride then pop the handle out and wheel it around.

Why not see if you can hire a moped for a couple of weeks and see how it goes before committing to it?

That's a good idea, I will look into that

Bristol. Yes lots of traffic.

It really depends on your commute.
A bike or ebike is better if there are nice cycle lanes or 20mph limit roads and somewhere safe to lock up at work. No tax insurance or servicing. But if you have a busy rural 30mph or more road it could be unpleasant. A lot of companies and train operators have banned electric bikes due to fire risk.

A 50cc scooter is only slightly faster, but still feels unsafe on 50+ mph roads, so only really works for longer 30mph road commutes. Can't use cycle lanes, may need to pay for parking (e.g. London). Have to insure, service etc.

You could get an A1 / 125 cc licence or L plates for 2 years.. Good for 60 mph roads but not motorway or national speed limit dual carriageways. More cost.

Then a car makes more sense unless you have heavy traffic which a motorbike can cut through to save time.

I'm an ex motorcyclist and miss it. Sadly it doesn't make sense for me any more.

I think it's a great idea but depends how far you have to go. We live 1.5 miles outside our local town and have two big stupid cars. I'm trying to convince my husband to get rid of one and get an e-moped for popping into town for shopping (we grocery shop every few days), library, dentist appointment, etc, and keep one car for longer distances (and horrendous weather etc). It would work well in this instance but I wouldn't like to travel on one for longer distances and would still like to have the option of the car for back up

The biggest issue with a moped is keeping it. They are massively prone to theft as they gain attention from young people and are stolen to be wrecked rather for any financial gain.

Insurance could be an issue if you haven't got safe storage at home or work