There is no doubt that commuting on an electric scooter is incredibly liberating. You can leave home much later (or get to work earlier), you avoid the horrible press of people on public transport, you save money *typically 3-6 months to save the equivalent cost of your scooter from not buying tickets - and it contributes to avoiding nasty illnesses like flu, covid-19 and common colds.
So now you are convinced, you've bought a shiny scooter, charged it up and are about to set off for work. STOP. Here's what you need to know.
Before you go.
Fill your tyres with Gunk. You will get punctures (more often than not on the back tyre) and they are very difficult to fix and certainly not during the commute. You will need heavy duty tools. Gunk will at least help you get to a repair shop, home or work so you can do something about it.
Another alternative is to replace your air filled tyres with solid ones. You will trade-off ride comfort for convenience but it is worth it. You will never have to change a puncture and this is something you should aim for. They are horrific to fix!
With this in mind, the BT2000 (our own scooter) comes fitted with solid tyres as standard. However other models supplied do not so do consider an after market upgrade. You can purchase these here if you like and we have provided a simple guide to help you choose the right ones. However unsurprisingly these are also difficult to fit so be warned!
Buy two chargers. One for work and one for home. You will need this as one day you will be caught short and will not have enough juice to get home. Keep it in your desk drawer and consider plugging in when you get to work so you are always covered.
Buy a mobile phone holder. Chances are you will need to follow a map because you do not want to be on busy roads. You will also be able to monitor your speed more accurately.
Buy a helmet. Minimum a cycling helmet. You will be travelling at anywhere from 15 kph upwards. Your head is not designed to deal with hitting hard objects at that speed.
Have a handlebar bag or rucksack for your lunch, laptop etc. This keeps your weight properly distributed and your hands free to drive.
Wear decent, water resistant shoes and avoid leather soles. They are slippery and you may need to jump off or help break by dragging your foot. In the wet you may as well be wearing ice skates. Even small puddles will cause your shoes and socks to get wet and you do not want that all day at work!
Dress for the weather. It will feel colder, because unlike cycling, you will not be doing anything physical so the wind, even on a warm day, can chill you. Consider keeping a light waterproof jacket with you to pull on over your sexy looking coat if it starts to rain.
If you are a compulsive phone answerer then get an in-ear blue tooth headphone. Only wear in one ear and do not use noise cancelling. Consider not doing this at all. However if you can't help yourself, trying to answer a phone and steer will cause you to wobble and fall off. So having one headphone is the less of two evils *please note that you must follow the law in your country in relation to the use of phones whilst on an electric scooter.
During your journey
Ride like you are on a bicycle. Do not be tempted to "filter" like people on motorbikes. You will quickly find yourself marooned between cars travelling a lot faster than you and this is very dangerous.
Try different journeys to work to find the quickest. Don't settle on the first one you do. Explore! You might save 5 mins by using a new route. For a 20 min journey thats a 25% saving on your commuting time each day.
When you arrive
If you have followed the advice above about a second charger, then plug your scooter in. This will give you excess capacity to get home and cover you for any unexpected additional journey (e.g. your partner asks you to divert to pick something up). An extra mile on a near empty battery can be the difference between a long walk pushing a 20kg scooter and a pleasant journey home.
If the scooter is wet then wipe it down to protect it.
Check your tyres at least once during the day. You might have a slow puncture and you do not want to find this out at 7pm after working late and then having to schlep home carrying your scooter. Once folded, you can take on public transport but it is stressful and hot and not worth doing if it can be avoided.
When you get home in the evening, plug in your scooter so it is charged the next day. Seems obvious but you will forget and if you are relying on a shorter commute time, there is nothing more frustrating than setting off to work in ECO mode just to ensure you get there. It is slow!
Once a week, consider flipping the scooter on its side and brushing it off and wiping it down. You will pick up mud and grime from the road and after 6 months, this could impact the performance through corrosion or just by jamming it up. Like any vehicle, a scooter requires some ongoing maintenance but if you do 10 mins a week, it will save you repair costs and pain in the medium-term.
Don't forget that in your country, using an electric scooter on public roads could be illegal and therefore you can't commute to work. So the above is meant to be a guide to think about for the time when/if this becomes legal in your jurisdiction. Nothing above is intended to recommend using a scooter to do this and you must follow your local laws. However for those of you lucky enough to live somewhere this is allowed then we hope this has been a useful read for you!