What is an Electric Motorcycle?

Electric motorcycles look pretty much like a typical motorcycle but are powered by an electric battery rather than a gasoline-fueled engine. They’re generally somewhat bigger and more powerful than an electric scooter and can travel farther than a scooter when their battery is fully charged. They shouldn’t be confused with an electric bicycle, which can be pedaled if the driver prefers to only use the battery when cycling up a hill or covering a longer distance than the driver wants to pedal.

Eco Benefits of Electric Motorbikes

Like electric cars, electric motorbikes offer several benefits over gasoline-powered vehicles when it comes to air pollution, noise pollution, fuel source, and climate change.

• Because their fuel is electricity rather than gasoline, electric motorbikes use no oil or gasoline and emit none of the exhaust fumes that cause air pollution and smog. In fact, if you have chosen to get your electricity from a wind farm, you can power your bike with clean renewable energy.

• They’re not releasing carbon dioxide when they’re being driven, either, so operating an electric motorcycle doesn’t add to climate change.

• They can be charged during off-peak hours using the excess energy utilities generate in evenings, so they require no new source of fuel.

• They’re usually cheaper to operate than a gasoline-powered vehicle, since electric engines are cleaner than those powered by gas and oil.

• A driver can’t really rev an electric motorcycle engine, so it is generally quieter than a gasoline-powered motorcycle. (Some critics point out that the quietness of an electric motorcycle may make it harder for drivers to be aware they’re on the road.)

• Some advocates of electric motorcycles suggest that, because these vehicles are more lightweight than cars, they wreak less wear and tear on highways and roads. Because they’re smaller, motorcycles can take up less parking space, as well. At my Metro subway station, it looks like two motorbikes are being parked in the same size space that’s reserved for one car.

Compared to gas-fueled motorcycles, electric motorcycles do offer many tangible environmental advantages.

What About the Batteries?

Electric batteries may be made from lithium ion, nickel metal hydride or lead acid. Nickel metal hydride batteries are being phased out, so you most likely would be choosing between lead acid or lithium ion batteries.

Of these, research conducted by Alternative Energy eMagazine  and the transportation research department of Elsevier, Ltd. indicates that lithium ion batteries are better for the environment in several ways. In particular, it takes more raw material to make a lead acid battery than it does to make a lithium ion battery. Lead processing creates more pollution. Plus, lead is more toxic to human health. As with any vehicle battery, whether for a car or a motorbike, it is important to recycle the battery at the end of its useful life. If buying an electric motorcycle, opt for one powered by a lithium ion battery.

How Far Can An Electric Motorbike Travel?

The range of an electric motorbike will vary between 40 miles/25 km to 100 miles/65 km, depending on whether the battery is fully charged. That is certainly enough to cover a daily round-trip commute to work or to manage daily chores before the battery would need to be recharged. The amount of time it takes to recharge a battery will depend on the size of the battery. In almost all cases, the battery can be recharged fully overnight.

What About Mass Transit?

It will almost always make sense to use mass transit over a single-passenger vehicle, whether it is powered by electricity or gas. The economies of scale of manufacturing and powering one large vehicle to move many passengers usually outweigh those of making a smaller, single-passenger vehicle.

However, many people still have little or no access to buses, subways, trains or even carpools, and need to travel distances that are too far to walk or bicycle. For them, an electric motorcycle could be a good solution. Plus, there are millions of people who simply enjoy riding a motorcycle. I’d definitely encourage them to switch to a ride powered by electricity. You can compare models at Bikesales.com.au.

The post Are Electric Motorcycles Eco-Friendly? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Learn how to drive as efficiently as possible.  Take note of these gas-saving tips and driving techniques and you’ll visit the pump less often. Plus, you’ll save $20-$50 a month on gasoline (photo credit).

• Recycle your car once it has reached the end of its life. Don’t send your vehicle to the junkyard before you’ve looked at this list.

• Carpool and use mass transit as much as possible. When you share the ride, you reduce your costs – and your impact on the air your breathe and the water you drink.

• Use a car-sharing service such as Zipcar, which may eliminate the need to own a vehicle altogether. It has certainly helped me!

• Walk, bicycle. Well, these are more “non” driving tips, aren’t they? But they do help you guzzle less gas; and manufacturing a bike or a pair of walking shoes uses far less resources than producing a car!

• And remember: if you are in the market for a new car, choose the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the size that will meet your needs. Visit FuelEconomy.gov to find the best available option for you.

The post Eco-Friendly Tips Will Reduce Your Car’s Environmental Impact appeared first on Big Green Purse.

But given its compact size (it seats four comfortably, five only if the person in the middle back seat has short legs), it’s not the vehicle you’d willingly use to pick up your daughter — and all her stuff — from college, the challenge I faced recently.

Fortunately, I’m a member of ZipCar, the car company that lets you rent vehicles by the hour or the day. ZipCar, whose motto is “Wheels When You Want Them,” is gaining in popularity because it makes using a car so cheap compared to owning one.  According to the company’s calculations, owning a car like a Ford Fusion can cost you almost $800 a month, once you figure in parking, insurance, vehicle registration, gas, maintenance, new tires, and other related expenses. Even if you drive a lot (though not every single day), you could be paying as little as $322 a month using a Zip Car. You can join for $50 a year

Using my zippy membership, I was able to rent a Honda Element for the 7 hours I needed to retrieve my daughter from school.  I simply reserved my car a day in advance, walked two blocks in my neighborhood, and found the car clean and ready to go. I swiped my membership card over a scanner embedded into the windshield. The car doors unlocked, and I found the key in the ignition. Off I went, easy as pie, for a little more than $11/hr.

I chose the Honda Element over a wide range of other options because it offered the most room for the greatest amount of gas mileage. I drove 242 miles on about a tank of gas, for an average fuel economy of around 22 mpg – not quite as good as the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV (which wasn’t an option, either at ZipCar or at any of the conventional car rental companies I checked), but better than most conventional SUVs. I filled the gas tank up using the gas card in the glove compartment, so it didn’t cost me anything.

Interested? If you live here or go to school here, you can rent a ZipCar. If your city’s not on the list, send the company an e-mail and let them know you’d like to Zip. They’re opening new locations all the time – maybe you can get them to consider your neighborhood. You can also search “car share” on the Internet to see similar options other companies may be offering in your community.

Thumbs up, ZipCar!

By the way, don’t miss these Big Green Purse tips on saving gas and choosing fuel-efficient vehicles.

The post ZipCar Comes to the Rescue (and Saves Me a Lot of Money)! appeared first on Big Green Purse.