Scooters and Mopeds for the London Olympics

The 2012 Olympics are throwing up many unexpected benefits. Perhaps one of the least surprising ones is the introduction of better transport networks in and around the London area. What you may not know is that many of these new transport groups specifically designed for scooters mopeds.
 
In fact, throughout the summer of 2012, 50cc scooters are going to be available for hire around the London area at a heavily subsidised price. The main event areas of the Olympics will have parking spaces for several thousand motorbikes and mopeds.
 
While this may surprise many people, to me this seems like an eminently sensible idea. With the average number of passengers in a car, including the driver, at less than 1.4, it seems that most people still drive alone. And while these Olympics are a great family event, a significant percentage of people will be using public transport or their own transport and visiting alone.
 
In terms of space-saving, a 50cc scooter or moped takes up roughly one third of the space of a family car to park. That's a fantastic saving to begin with. They are able to move through traffic that much easier, are cheaper to run and maintain, and of course use less fuel.
 
So from a space-saving, money saving an ecological point of view getting a scooter is a virtual no-brainer. It's interesting however that the government department responsible for sourcing the scooters mopeds for the Olympics has decided to go with a well-known European brand. While I am not aware of the individual prices that they are being charged, I do know that on the high street these bikes cost almost £2000 (a little over €2000)
 
If I was to pick one fault with this entire system, that would be it. Why spend so much money on scooters when there are equivalents available for one third of the price? I was always under the impression that Boris Johnson was a level-headed sort of chap, on the lookout for a bargain. Actually of course Boris Johnson isn't a level-headed sort of chap, he is as nutty as a fruitcake. But he is famous for pedalling around on his bike, he knows and speaks of the ecology of two wheeled transport all the time. It seems to me that he has missed an obvious trick here.
 
Of course, as individuals we can go out and buy our own scooter or mopeds. We don't need Sebastian Coe or Boris Johnson nor anybody else like that to arrange for us to save money on transport and find parking that much easier. My advice to anybody considering this themselves would be to check out the market first. There are excellent machines available at well under £1000.
 
We haven't all got the sort of money that Boris seems to have.