The internal combustion engine, be it petrol or diesel fuelled, is not, despite over a century's development, the most efficient form of motive power. It relies on finite oil resources, it emits "noxious vapours" and, rather like democracy, it may not be perfect but it's the best we've got at present.
Electricity could be an option, but it either has to be transmitted by live rails, overhead cables, or stored in batteries. To date no one has produced batteries at an affordable price that can store the energy equivalent of a tank full of petrol.
These difficulties have not deterred some from producing electric vehicles. EVT (Electric Vehicle Technologies), a Taiwanese company, offers a wide range of bicycles and scooters, even an electric car. Recently we tried their EVT-4000e scooter.
After four hours of charging, the four 12v 50 AH sealed, lead-acid batteries are fully charged. This is reckoned to be sufficient for a journey of 60 kms. Charging costs of around 30c at off-peak rates are claimed.
Riding the EVT moped is an uncanny experience, the silence is noticeable, you can hear the birdsong and realise just how noisy are all other forms of transport. The "throttle" controls the speed and there are two buttons: E for "economy" and P for "maximum power". Ideally one should run in E mode as much as possible, as using the P mode drains the battery power more rapidly. A series of coloured LCDs on the instrument panel inform you of the battery state.
We found that when moving off from rest, and opening the throttle, there is a distinct time lag between opening the throttle and noticing an increase of power. That can be quite unnerving in traffic.
In suburban traffic, even on maximum power, we were rarely able to achieve better than 45 kph. In perfect conditions, a long, downhill straight we did once achieve 60 kph.
There were occasions when the lack of power, coupled with the time-lag when we needed to accelerate became more than mildly disconcerting. For all that "the powers that be" determine that an electric-powered scooter with a 48 volt, 480 watt, 3.06 hp motor is deemed for taxation purposes to be equivalent to a 50 cc internal combustion engined moped, there is no comparison on the road.
In fairness, the makers only claim 40 kph on the E setting and 45 kph on the P setting. We got better than that, but still not enough for the traffic and road conditions. After 40 km (25 miles) in typical suburban traffic the LCD panel warned us that it was time to head for home and recharge the batteries.
If your journeys could be confined to perfectly flat, almost deserted, quiet roads within, say a 15 km radius, the EVT could be a viable alternative. It would be ideal if all one wanted was quiet transport for exercising the labradors around the seclusion of the ancestral estate. It would be practicable for personal transport around a large factory complex or leisure facility, theme park or the like.
But for every day city and suburban personal transportation we feel one would have to be very environmentally concerned to go electric.
The environmental argument, that an electric vehicle does not create pollution is somewhat tenuous. The machine itself does not create pollution, but the electricity has to be generated somewhere, and not all power stations are pollution-free.
Battery life is expected to be around 2 to 2 1/2 years in normal use. To replace each one of the four batteries would cost around €40. Adding that cost to the charging cost, which in the majority of cases would not be at off-peak rates, and the total running costs could well work out quite close to those for a conventional moped.
Given the current state of electric-powered mopeds as seen with the EVT-4000e, even though it performs in excess of the maker's claims, the technology has not yet reached a level where it can be considered a viable alternative to more conventionally powered machines. Hopefully, in time, the technology will improve because we know that the oil reserves will not last for ever.
EVT 4000e (Electric Scooter)
MOTOR: 48 volt electric in-hub motor producing 3.06 hp at 230 rpm.
CHASSIS: Conventional scooter with 10" wheels front and rear disk brakes, hydraulic front and rear shock absorbers.
POWER SOURCE: Four 12 volt 50 ampere hour sealed lead -acid batteries. Recharge time 4 hours.
PERFORMANCE: Max speed 40 kph on economy setting, 45 kph on power setting. Range (claimed) 60 kms.
DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase: 1,240mm. Weight: 125 kgs. Seat height: 850mm
INSURANCE: Group 1
PRICE: €2,300. Warranty one year, unlimited mileage.