[Admiral Beez]

Which is more fuel efficient and gives off less particulate matter and polution, 1 new (non-Hybrid) TTC Orion bus carrying 30 people, or 30 people on individual Vespa scooters, up Yonge from Front St. to Shephard during a regular rush hour?

Vespa has a Go Green promotion right now, see details at http://gogreenchallenge.vespausa.com/ Which includes info on the efficiency of using a Vespa in Manhattan, http://www.vespausa.com/company/news.cfm?NID=182

I can't find fuel consumption or emmission numbers on Orion's website to compare. Of course a Hybrid-Orion bus with 50 people on-board stands a better chance of beating the Vespas, but I wanted a more usual scenario.

So, do 30 Vespas beat one standard bus with 30 folks onboard?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Some fuel efficiency info:

http://www.eesi.org/publications/Fa...alth Fact Sheets/Hybridbusfactsheet_final.PDF

It seems the fuel efficiency for Vespa is about 60 miles/gallonn (often quoted figure) vs. ~3 miles/gallon for Orion VII Hybrid.

Using this figure, it takes about 0.5 gallon/mile for 30 passengers each on a Vespa vs. 0.33 gallon/mile for 30 passengers on a bus.

AoD

 

[Admiral Beez]

Thanks.

So, the Orion burns less fuel, but which burns cleaner? Would 30 Vespas give off less soot and nitrogen oxides?

 

[BUGEYEDBRIT]

what about noise pollution? The Vespas sound like angry wasps in a tin can.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Not the new 4-stroke models, with their low reving, well muffled engines. You're thinking of, I believe, the old 7,000 rpm two-stroke Vespas. The new ones are very quiet. BTW, Vespa is Italian for Wasp, so it ties nicely with your post.

I wonder what the decibel count is for 30 Vespas vs. one diesel bus, both pulling away from a stop and then cruising. I'd bet the bus is louder.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Or we could just get everyone onto ZENNs.... no noise whatsoever and protected from the elements, and best of all, no emissions.

http://www.zenncars.com/

..well.. at least as soon as someone gives the Feds a kick to allow them to be driven here.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Quick Edit: Feds have been kicked.. we gotta kick the province now.

 

[doady]

What takes up more space? 30 Vespas or 1 bus?

Having been to several Vietnamese cities - Ca Mau, Sai Gon, Can Tho, etc. - where there is no transit, only Vespas - I can't say I like the idea of encouraging public transit users to switch to Vespas, though my mom might since she is still homesick for the old country and hasn't been there is over a decade. The resulting extreme noise pollution and traffic chaos might be a little "home away from home", if you know what I mean, though that is probably not the sort of thing that Vietnamese people here miss the most anyways. But every little helps, I suppose. The anti-multiculturalism crowd will probably not support this though.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I'd argue again that most of the scooters in SE Asia are likely two-strokes, and operate in almost anarchial traffic conditions. In Toronto, a four-stroke Vespa following the rules of the road is hardly a blight on the city.

Once it's paid for, the Vespa may be cheaper to operate, maintain and insure, than the cost of a Metro Pass.

 

[BUGEYEDBRIT]

Or we could just get everyone onto ZENNs.... no noise whatsoever and protected from the elements, and best of all, no emissions.

http://www.zenncars.com/

..well.. at least as soon as someone gives the Feds a kick to allow them to be driven here.

no emmissions ? Only if you conveniently forget the source of the electricity being used to recharge it.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

no emmissions ? Only if you conveniently forget the source of the electricity being used to recharge it.

Sorry, no point emissions.

But if you power your home with Bullfrog or any other 100% emissions free source, then it is truly zero emissions.

 

[adma]

Now, when it comes to 1 bus vs 30 WASPs, the negative chemistry produces ads like this

 

[Admiral Beez]

It's true though, the TTC buses seem to be filled with creeps and weirdos. Granted, I take the streetcar and subway more than the buses, which for whatever reason seem to have less odd fellows.

 

[adma]

Granted, I take the streetcar and subway more than the buses, which for whatever reason seem to have less odd fellows.

And more Foresters and Knights of Columbus, I presume.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

And more Foresters and Knights of Columbus, I presume.

LOL!