He's got the hair for Father Christmas, but not the eyebrows, the beard or the bulk.

I think next time he delivers bail out money to a bank, it should arrive in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

I suppose that Alistair has to find an extra way to tax people now that he is losing so much fuel duty, What about his Christmas Bonus, a penny in the old man's hat....lol

They've got to get the bail out money from somewhere.

I think that this could be the plan.

You see years ago, they ruined the countryside to the extent that all but the richest were priced out of living there.

So now, a tax on fresh air is something similar to a tax on the rich.

<hunkers down and waits for the beatings to begin>

Mr-tom

Haven't you heard, Alistair was discussing the same idea with Gordon over the garden fence between number 10 and 11 this morning......

Oi!! Don't go giving the government ideas!

;-)

P11D - Oh how I miss UK taxation !!

Maybe soon have a Fresh air tax if you live out in the country.....

Flexi-benefit? I suspect it would need to go on your P11D as a benefit in kind and you'd have to pay tax on it. Not sure exactly where though...presumably under 'other' and I wouldn't want to calculate it! Although tax on such a low value could be worth it, what price is the cost of the additional travelling time? would you really give up a couple of hours each way to be green? that's 20 hours a week... I try to be green but I wouldn't do that.

I like this.

I'd need a better speed and range as work is a fair way away, but the idea is a good one.

I'm also pretty confident that work would let me plug it in as it boosts their green credentials. It could even form part of my flex-benefits package.

In my view 8 miles is quite a long way to go in one of these. Personally I'd be happy going round the corner to the shops if the route was decent but I'd be a bit uncomfortable about an 8 mile journey (= 2 hours each way if you put your foot down). It's best to talk to someone who uses one though. If the batteries have an 8 mile range when new, they may well only manage 5 miles after a year's use.

I would expect that most employers wouldn't mind you plugging in at work as long as there was a handy socket and you asked first.

Work is 8miles from home - so I wouldn't like to try this - unless work don't mind me plugging it in to recharge at work ?

I would work it out as a 1400 watt motor running for (say) 3 hours would use 4.2 kWh. Charged at night rate, economy 7, that would cost 20p or so. The 3 hours of use is a guess and, yes, the charge wont be 100% efficient.

The smallest models might use 2 x 12V, 12Ah batteries with a reange of 8 miles. A full charge for this would be 0.288 kWh which would cost something like the expected cost per mile above. Of course, larger, heavier and faster models are going to cost a little more per mile.

Power input and power output wont be the same of course.

Maybe using next doors power supply... ;-P

The motor is supposedly 1400 watts - which even with an efficient charger (50%) would consume 2800 watts of power to recharge - which, to me - I can't see costing any less than 50p (still cheap but....) - so how can they work out 8p ?

Unless I am missing something ?

http://www.firebox.com/product/2166/Ego-Electric-Street-Scoota

You need to shop around because there are some retailers who will overprice these. Yes, they are very cheap to drive but they don't go fast and they are only useful for short journeys. You certainly shouldn't set off on a 40 mile journey in one. They will slowly lose charge and some (most?) have an indicator to show how much charge they have left. A 4-seat electric car costs a penny or two per mile so I can believe ¼p for one of these.

The main part that goes wrong is the battery. Essentially the power comes from two or more car batteries. Certainly if they are 12V batteries, you could just put a standard car battery in as a replacement if it would fit in the space. A good quality car battery lasts for 5 years or more and you should expect something similar from a scooter battery, or maybe a little less. There's certainly no need to get anything special for the battery if one needs replacing as long as the voltage is right. The more Ah (= amp hours) a battery has, the more charge it will hold. A normal car battery charger could be used to charge up although many come with a socket rather the more flexible crocodile clips.

Most of these scooters will take apart to fit into a reasonably sized boot so consider this as an option if the seller wants a lot for delivery.

I am interested in an electric scooter - advertised in firebox - that supposedly does 40miles on a full charge that costs 8p - the cost of the scooter is £1000 - anyone any experience of one of these ?

I believe that the batteries are guaranteed for 12 months - but after that - how long do they last ?

What happens when they lose their charge - do they slowly slow the scooter down or do they suddenly die ?

I am also concerned about obtaining spares for the scooter - they are made in China - in fact the more that I think about it - the more of a waste of money it may be - still less than 1/4p per mile is appealing ....

Comments welcome