Jam-busting Scoot on charge

Could this be the way to whizz through city jams and scoot round congestion charges?

Auto Express Car Reviews

Easy-to-ride battery-powered runabout can hit 18mph

10th March 2007

It's the prototype of an electric scooter from an Anglo-Dutch design team more used to penning toasters and kettles. However, it is rumoured that the neat concept has attracted interest from car and motorcycle giant BMW.

The slim machine, called the Scoot, is powered by removable lithium ion batteries located above the back wheel, and has an 18mph top speed. Such a compact power pack would not usually last long, but the design team has shaved off as much weight as possible to maximise the range.

Engineers say the scooter will cover more than 30 miles before the batteries run flat. And with an ultra-efficient electric motor, each mile will cost only a penny. Better still is the fact that the runabout is classed as a bicycle, not a motorbike. This means it wouldn't need to be road registered and so avoids costly tax and insurance. There's one disadvantage compared with a conventional scooter, though. Instead of a quick tank fill-up, the £1,000 scooter's power pack takes nearly six hours to completely recharge.

"We're looking for business partners to put the Scoot into production," said Roger Swales, head of the Eindhoven-based GRO design group.