Best Transportation for the City Babe: Bye Carbon Footprint!

If you’re a city babe, big or small, answer this: what’s the thing that most ails you + your city dwelling life?

Let me guess…. TRANSPORTATION?

Living in Los Angeles, transportation makes me want to move at least 3 x a week. Things aren’t that far away. They just take so much time to get to. Our traffic jams are bumper to bumper, multiple lanes wide + they’re actually getting worse + lasting much longer. And time is money honey! Oh + then there’s the fact that you have to leave an hour ahead of time just to account for ACCIDENTS. LA traffic can be Hell on Earth. A headache forming, road rage filled, gas guzzling Hell.

But wait, there’s more!! Once you finally get to your destination… you have to find PARKING, which usually takes about 15 minutes more + really just puts the finishing touch on that headache.

Honestly though, I see traffic obstacles in every city I go. In NYC, the traffic is just as congested as LA. It’s simply in a smaller space. And I can’t even tell you how anxious my Brooklyn GF’s were when city officials announced that the L train would be shut down for repairs.

In London, the Tube is known to shut down (it happened multiple times when I lived there). Then what do you do? It’s literally like armageddon when the Tube is down for the day.

Really no matter which city you live in.. big or small… there are transportation issues. And it doesn’t stop at cars. It’s public transportation, too.

Now let’s talk carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by a human activity within a given time frame. Greenhouse gases cause global warming. And we all know where that leads.

Now let’s talk cars. Yesterday was Earth Overshoot Day, meaning yesterday marks the moment we’ve officially used up one Earth full of natural resources this year. And it’s only July. This is due to humanity using + abusing our Planet at a rate 1.75 times faster than our Planet can actually regenerate. By the end of the year, we’ll have used 1.75 Earths. And you know what highly contributes to this problem? CO2. Carbon emissions. From cars!!

According to the EPA, the average gas powered vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of CO2 - that’s 10,141 POUNDS - each year. If you drive that car for let’s say, 50 years, that’s over 500,000 POUNDS of carbon emissions you’re putting into the air. That’s a hell of a lot. Especially since carbon dioxide is a GAS that weighs barely anything.

Now let’s talk bikes, because bikes are great. They immediately reduce your carbon footprint. They get you to where you need to go + the best thing about them is you simultaneously get a workout while biking to work. But that’s the thing: you get a workout!! I don’t like getting all sweaty before showing up to the office or to a meeting. And also... HAIR.

So how do we avoid ALL of these issues, while still making our lives easier AND reducing our carbon footprint?

CITY LIFE = SCOOTER LIFE.

I never thought I’d be an electric scooter person. And that’s the truth. I don’t know what it was, what I was afraid of. But NOW, I scoot everywhere around my city. I scoot to appointments, I scoot to the gym, I scoot to pick up dinner, I scoot as much as I can. And I love it, SO MUCH. Now, micromobility is totally my thing.

HERE ARE THE BENEFITS OF BECOMING A SCOOTER BABE:

environmental cost.

Where cars emit all those greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, severely contributing to global warming, electric scooters emit ZERO CO2. They don’t run on gas, so there’s no smog + no fossil fuels being burned. Technically, electricity is a renewable resource, too which is what powers these e-scooters. Therefore, scooters are drastically more eco-friendly than a car. Even an electric car. Because think about this for a second…

energy efficiency.

One kilowatt hour of energy will only carry a gas powered car 1 single mile. A Tesla 3 (electric vehicle) will travel 4 miles on that same amount of energy. And an e-scooter.. that little baby will travel 80 miles on one kilowatt hour of energy.

production cost.

Now, a lot of that has to do with the weight + size of a scooter. So try this on for size: Because the average scooter weighs just 28 pounds, it requires FAR less energy to manufacture. Which means less of a carbon footprint at the factory. The average gas powered car creates 7 TONS of CO2 emissions while being manufactured. Scooters create less than 1 percent of that on their assembly line.

retail cost.

Scooters also take a lot less MONEY to make. Which pays off on your end. For the average price of a basic Tesla 3 (about $53,000), you could buy over 100 high-end e-scooters.

maintenance cost.

Maintaining a car will always makes a huge dent in your wallet. In addition to that initial purchase price, all those fees will quickly stack up: license, registration, smog checks, etc. THEN you have your maintenance fees: oil checks, more fluids, new brakes, tire rotations, car washes, etc etc. Plus, I get a lot of parking tickets :/ And those are $64 a pop. Then, there’s fuel. Even if your car efficiently delivers 28 miles per gallon, the cost of fueling up your scooter with electricity costs about 1% of those traditional fuel costs. Specifically, a scooter costs less than 1 cent per mile to operate, where a gas powered vehicle costs 1500% more per mile.

licensing.

Most states don’t require a DMV issued license to operate a scooter. So if you don’t have a license, a scooter is your best bet.

parking + traffic.

I lock my scooter to parking meters + bike racks. This means I’m never wasting my time searching for a parking spot, as I can ‘park’ anywhere. And zooming around grid locked traffic is the best thing about a scooter. You save so much time + energy NOT being in traffic!

portability.

Scooters come in many different models, including incredibly lightweight ones. So if you live further away from the Metro or Train than what you’d ideally prefer, a lightweight/foldable scooter would totally speak your language. Scooters are compact so you can really bring them anywhere.

cleanliness.

I know this sounds weird but you know what’s even weirder? Handling a scooter from Bird or Lyft that has never been cleaned + touched by thousands of people before you. Ew.

+ they're fun!

If you’re in front of a computer for the majority of your day like I am, you will LOVE a scooter. It gets you outside, you get to breathe that fresh air + they’re super fun! Whenever I see a friend on the street, they always ask to borrow mine!

So listen, even with all these MAJOR benefits of owning + operating an eco-friendly, energy efficient e-scooter like the one I have, there are a few downfalls. You still need a different form of transportation in the elements (like snow + rain), as well as for long trips. However in America alone, approximately 60% of trips are under 5 miles + drivers typically ride solo.

Therefore, micromobility (aka SCOOTER LIFE) can EFFICIENTLY provide transportation for MUCH lower economic + environmental costs in the city.

And if I haven’t persuaded you quite yet, let’s tuck into this: here’s $50 OFF for you!!! Just use code: ECOBABE50 at www.fluidfreeride.com

I HIGHLY recommend Fluid Free Ride, a company based out of Miami, because if you need part replacements or have questions, they are ready + available for you. You’re not trying to speak with someone overseas +/or waiting for parts for weeks, if not forever.

I love my FFR Wide Wheel because it’s super stable, as opposed to models with skinnier tires. We have so many dips + bumps in our hilly Santa Monica streets that I felt like I really needed that stability + power. But if I lived in a city with a train, I’d go for the Mosquito because it’s very lightweight + easy to carry around. And if you’re a speed demon, definitely take a look at the FFR website. You’ll love all the double motor, high speed + off road options!! Side note, my wide wheel maxes out around 20 miles per hour, which is plenty fast for me :)

Love you babes — thank you so much for recommending this subject for ecobabe. Transportation for city dwellers can be extremely overwhelming + very inefficient. And I have to say, my little e-scooter has resolved a lot of that. Electric scooters are definitely where it’s at when it comes to micromobility + micromobility is definitely where it’s at when it comes to saving the planet. I’m looking forward to seeing how cities start rolling out modern plans for micromobility + can’t wait to see e-scooters take over the streets! Cue *ridin dirty*. Which in this case, should be renamed to ridin CLEAN lol.

So if reducing your carbon footprint, making a change in global warming + making your city life a lot more accessible + easier is bringing you joy to think about… jump on the scooter train babe!!! Be part of the solution. And don’t forget to use ECOBABE50. (I should also mention if you’re purchasing Stateside, you’ll also score free shipping.)

In the meantime, if you have questions please ask below!!! And if you need me, you know where to find me — See you on the streets X

+ + Please consider a helmet + all other safety precautions when operating a scooter.

+ + When you DO purchase a scooter from Fluid Free Ride, be sure to research your city’s traffic rules for scooters before operating yours.

+ + For more eco-friendly alternatives to life’s everyday hassles, go here