Alternative Active Travel

"Mummy, look at that man on a scooter"

Quote - A seriously impressed child

The Problem

Chris, hurry up, we’ve only got five minutes until we need to leave! After putting the laptop into sleep mode and finding my trainers and keys, I groggily slide into the car and thread through morning traffic to drop my partner Charlotte off at the train station to head to work. Then loop back home whilst avoiding school congestion to start work. Again. Reminding myself that I haven’t done any work and it’s not coffee time, yet.

This format of running my partner to the train station each morning and collecting her again at 6 pm has been our norm. I had got used to it. So, when Charlotte said she was thinking of buying an adult push scooter, what did I think? My response was a resounding yes!

Fast forward six months and our morning routine looks very different. Charlotte effortlessly wheels down the slope outside our house heading to the station with a smile on her face and summer dress flittering in the wind. She’s even attached a drinks holder and handlebar bag for storing a jacket and some basic maintenance tools.

The Goal

Hi, I’m Chris Webber and I work as an embedded researcher on the Active Calderdale project. I mostly do this from home, but commute to Halifax every two weeks to catch up with the team. Based on Charlotte's positive experience, and because zooming around the house was very cool, I wanted to try scooting to work myself. My journey involves a walk to the local station (30 mins) to catch a train to Halifax, then a 15-minute walk to the Council building via a sandwich shop. Door-to-door, about 90 minutes of walking is involved. So, my question was could a scooter make life easier and reduce this time?

The Journey

Initially, an inner voice reminded me that scooters are for children and people may laugh. Having silenced this part of my brain, I jumped on and set off. Pretty quickly, I was flying past dawdling walkers down a slight decline. What goes down must go up. These usually invisible inclines to walkers, cyclists, and cars feel a bit more real whilst scooting. As you would expect, this does offer a workout for the legs. Strangely, the resting leg works as hard as the pushing leg through micro-leg squats. Eventually, the pushing leg gets tired and requires swapping. This introduces another challenge of balance and coordination as you have to swap your feet on the footplate whilst in transit. Easy(ish) after a few attempts. Another point that I quickly realised is that it’s tricker than a bike to ride one-handed. Presumably because the handlebars are smaller and it’s not moving as fast. Thankfully, pride remained intact.

Scooting also positions you in the environment with a new perspective. Finding drop kerbs and lifts becomes a new challenge. Also, quick assessments of road smoothness become important. Cobbles or raised dots by crossing points do rattle the teeth a little. However, finding that smooth section of tarmac that silently glides like a race circuit is hard not to feel smug about.

Overcoming Obstacles to Success

My first rush hour train was standing room only, so holding the scooter upright by the door worked well. It proved slightly tricker to accommodate in the train carriage when sitting down. With a bit of experimentation, you can fit it next to you without having to fold it. Another learning point was that you aren’t allowed to scoot on train station platforms. At all. Even very slowly. A Northern Rail lady assertively blew her whistle at me and vigorously gestured from afar. It took a while to realise that it was directed at me, oops. I suppose at least train stations allow leg-powered scooters, unlike e-scooters.

Arriving at my meeting, wheeling the scooter in, flicking the stand out, and parking it up in the corner of the room certainly got my colleagues' attention. After some discussion, admiration, enthusiastic experimentation, and probably scepticism I headed home. Without introduction, a lady from the council quite rudely told me ‘You’re not allowed that in here’. She instructed me that I must use a different entrance and leave it with the bikes downstairs in the basement. The only problem is, that without a metal frame, you can’t lock a scooter like a bike. Good job she didn’t see us doing a few (controlled) laps of the polished third floor around the atrium past people’s offices. Having been educated, again, a practical solution involves folding the scooter in half and carrying it into the office.

Impact

In conclusion, scooting to work is great fun! It’s twice as quick as walking, as I timed it both ends. It also saves money from driving the car back and forth when the engine is cold and less efficient. We worked out the scooter would pay for itself after a year of commuting in petrol saved (quicker if you bought a second-hand scooter). This has a knock-on effect of reducing our CO2 output, which feels nice. I don’t like breathing in fumes. It’s definitely a workout for your legs, especially if you’ve got a few hills in there.

The initial surprise, which quickly turns into an approving smile or nods from children on their scooters or accompanying parents doesn’t grow old. You feel a temporary part of a subculture that’s far cooler than you are. Travelling at rush hour you realise how many adolescents routinely use this method to independently get about. Funny how adults rarely, if ever, consider this as a genuine option. Hopefully, if you’ve got this far, scooting may present another option for you to consider. I promise you won’t be able to do it without smiling…

If you have a story of alternative active travel, we would love to hear it. Email your experiences to activecalderdale@calderdale.gov.uk.

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