The 3 wheel electric scooters offer great leg room, since the unit has two wheels in the back but only one wheel upfront, which is steered. The compact versions allow for easy transportation with many models offering the ability to break the unit down into smaller pieces, or folding away. They offer a tighter turning radius making it easy to use in congestion from objects or people, but allow for limited use on uneven surfaces, longer distances or less than ideal conditions.

If, for example, taking walks with the dog, family or friends, doing indoor shopping and quick trips to the local store or longer trips involving another vehicle are the main uses, then the best choice is a 3 wheel electric scooter.

4 wheel electric scooters

If a more aggressive approach is required, then the 4 wheel electric scooter is the solution. With the increased stability and higher top speed gained with the addition of the extra wheel comes the loss of some turning radius, so they are not ideal for indoor use, certainly not within tighter spaces. The durability and strength of the 4 wheel electric scooter means that they are useful for most mobility requirements.

Since cities enjoy the greatest concentration of people, they also have the greatest concentration of vehicles, and with increased concentration comes increased congestion, and emissions control becomes a serious concern to not only the planet’s health, but the health of those living and working in cities. Electric scooters provide the perfect solution to reduce carbon emissions within a city center, which is where the incredible benefits and usefulness of electric scooters can be realized. The advent of personal electric transportation such as scooters can greatly help major urban populations to control their carbon output.

Using a car to traveling short distances within the city not only has a detrimental affect on the vehicle’s engine which increases servicing costs, but the greatest amount of pollution is created when the engine is started, and gradually reduces over time. An electric scooter has the power and durability to perform these quick trips with ease and almost no cost and zero emissions. Even the reduction in the use of motor oils and other lubricants can greatly reduce the amount of consumption of the nonrenewable resource.

This isn’t to say that electric scooters are completely innocent bystanders in helping to control fossil fuel emissions. They do require electricity to function, and this electricity has to come from somewhere, mostly coal-burning electrical generating stations, which themselves burn fossil fuels. Having said this, the environmental footprint left by an electric scooter is considerably less than that of a gas powered engine, which has efficiency in the area of 15%. This means that approximately 85% of the energy created by a motor that burns gasoline as a means of locomotion is wasted.

The United States Department of Energy suggests that extensive use of the electric scooter could result in savings of up to 14 million gallons of gas, per day, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 324 million pounds per day.

Each battery type is usually mated to a scooter which is appropriate for the scooter’s ideal use. Electric mobility scooter battery performance depends a great deal on the amount of weight it must mobilize, wind conditions and driving habits.

Lead acid

Considered to be the most economical, especially in larger power items like hospital equipment, emergency lighting and electric scooters and the choice for electric mobility scooters. The battery is highly durable, cheap and strong, and more desirable with heavy equipment.

A typical lead acid battery setup in a small or basic electric scooter might be 48 volt to 60 volt, capable of powering a scooter to 30 mph carrying a 165lb adult (the scooter itself weighing 250 to 300lbs), and good for 30 miles.

Typically, it takes about 5 times longer to discharge a lead acid battery than it does to charge it. Lead acid batteries should always be stored in a state of full-charge, and should be completely recharged every six months.

The lead acid battery was invented by a french physicist in 1859, and is the oldest type of rechargeable battery. It has a very low energy to weight and energy to volume ratio, but these batteries supply high surge currents giving it a very high power to weight ratio and they are inexpensive, making them ideal for heavy use such as cars and scooters and other large machines and equipment.

Nickel metal hydride

This battery type is most often found in consumer electronics like iPods and notebook computers, but they have also started to find their way into electric scooters. The nickel metal hydride battery has high energy density but a reduced cycle life (greater energy capacity for shorter periods of time), but the upside is that it can be recharged rapidly. Some new electric scooters come with 125 volt NiMH batteries capable of 68 miles on a charge at an average speed of 25 miles per hour.

Nickel metal hydride batteries do not like high temperatures and because of this, great care should be taken to ensure that they are allowed to exist in cool temperatures if at all possible. They also do not like to be overcharged as the chemistry of this particular battery type does not handle the overcharge well.

Nickel metal hydride batteries have the ability to be fast-charged, which can charge the battery in about one hour, switching to trickle charge when ready. Fast charging also reduces crystalline formation which is what can produce the memory effect.

Prior to first use (or first use after a long period of storage), the nickel metal hydride battery needs to be charged for about 24 hours on a trickle charger. Long term storage of a nickel metal hydride battery can cause dry spots on the plate separators, and trickle charging redistributes the electrolyte evenly, thus providing a self remedy to storage issues. Some manufacturers do not ship nickel metal hydride batteries with fully charged battery cells, so a number of charge / discharge cycles need to be reached in order to establish a peak performance cycle. With some batteries, fifty to one hundred cycles are required to fully form the battery cells.

Designed by Segway Inc in New Hampshire, the unit is a two wheeled self balancing upright electric vehicle, and playfully named after the Italian word segue, for smooth transition, or “follows”.

To manipulate the unit, the rider simply leans in the direction they want to travel and the vehicle’s electric motors power the wheels to move in that direction. The direction of lean is detected by gyroscopic sensors.

The unique application of the Segway scooter and the cost compared to other electric vehicles on the market suggested that the company would have a difficult time with market penetration, however it’s novelty provided a vitality, and it appeared in a number of films and shows which peaked curiosity.

The company sold 6,000 units in 2003, with almost another 18,000 units sold in the following 2.5 years. Most recently, the city of Chicago agreed to a 100 unit contract, or $580,000, for use by it’s police, fire, and emergency departments, along with airport personnel.

Segways are extremely useful when navigating flat paved surfaces, and as such, are a welcome addition to anyone who has to repeatedly traverse short distances. A California state park offers them for park tours, and the police force at the 2008 Summer Olympics used them mobilizing units to the different properties and other official uses.

In the US, thirty states have placed the Segway into a category that essentially restricts it from being used on sidewalks because, even though it may be an electric scooter, it is not classified as a medial device, which would give it the flexibility to be used anywhere. Some cities have specific concerns over their use, such as San Francisco, which cited safety concerns as a reason for the ban, although they are available by a number of tour groups in the area for use on certain paths, the handicapped have special allowances to use them on sidewalks under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The same issues don’t necessarily apply to other types of electric scooters such as smaller mopeds, motor-boards, and some carts and electric mobility scooters as their size and weight make it much easier to overcome some of the problems in sourcing power outlets.

Getting around is also a little slower for an electric scooter and requires a bit of planning to get to the destination to make sure that appropriate roads are available. If the battery is cold, it further reduces the performance of an electric scooter, adding to that a reduced storage capacity as low as about 20% of it’s capacity on a warm day. Clearly, the ability to store an electric scooter inside while recharged and stored is the ideal situation.

Electric scooters also bring with them the sound of silence, which may be a nice change for the owner, but also presents an interesting challenge for riders and those around them. The sound of an engine is often one of the indicators that there is a vehicle near by, and for other drivers and pedestrians who don’t look around them when maneuvering in traffic can often spell danger for the silent rider.

Battery technology is gradually improving making this form of transportation more practical. Manufacturers are continually developing systems that increase both the speed and range of electric scooters, while at the same time increasing their efficiency.

Since an electric scooter uses no fluids such as gasoline and oil to power and lubricate moving parts, it makes them a very low-maintenance and thus a low-cost vehicle.

Since traditional 2 wheel electric scooters are a relatively new product in the US, it has yet to obtain any standards as to its definition from state to state, and in many states the scooter doesn’t meet the requirement to be a vehicle, and doesn’t require registration, licensing or scooter insurance.

Electric scooters are allowed to be transported in most public transit systems, such as buses, trains and planes, a courtesy not provided to owners of internal combustion powered scooters, ie. gas powered engines. This benefit to electric scooters is often extended to public places, a great advantage to those who are mobility challenged.

The electric motor enjoys most of it’s torque at start (meaning 100% of it’s power is available immediately), which makes going up steep hills and accelerating much more responsive in an electric vehicle than a gas powered vehicle, which tends to have to gain power before being able to accelerate enthusiastically.

However, it is the single feature shared by all of them which defines this simple yet revolutionary change to global personal transportation solutions – the battery.

Batteries are often one of the most weighty of parts in the scooter, and in an effort to increase range and speed, manufacturers are looking at lighter methods of supplying power. The traditional notion of lead batteries that store potential electrical energy in the form of chemical energy which can be converted into electricity, is being challenged by new and emerging technologies.

The future of the battery, or the “closed container of finite chemical energy” to supply electricity is being challenged by fuel cells, which are like batteries except that the elements carried inside react to release energy rather than store energy. They can operate continuously as long as the two elements (their fuel) that combine to react to produce the required electrical energy are present and continually supplied.

On the other hand, they are legal in California but do not require registration, license plates nor scooter insurance.

Insurance coverage for electric mobility scooters

In order to receive coverage, a doctor or physician must indicate to Medicare that the scooter is required due to a medical condition.

There are many insurance plans which cover or assist in the purchase costs of electric mobility scooters. With the help of scooter insurance plans, it is quite possible for those who have diverse mobility scooter requirements to purchase more than one scooter, each performaing specific tasks rather than one unit trying to accomodate all the needs. Spreading the needs across multiple mobility scooters reduces load and increases the lifespan of each unit.

Medicare will cover the cost of a mobility scooter if a condition makes it impossible to move around without the use of a wheelchair, unable to operate a manual wheelchair and that the condition doesn’t impair the person’s safely getting in and out of a mobility scooter.

If the electric scooter is to be used primarily indoors, then turning radius is one of the more important features to be considered and a compact electric scooter is often the best choice. If traveling outdoors is how it will be most used, then certainly a 4 wheel mobility scooter offers the greatest stability and comfort to handle rough and uneven terrain. If the traveling over different or healthy changes in elevation, then 4 wheel scooters with additional power features should be included. Many local laws require certain bare minimum requirements such as lights and the ability to maintain a minimum speed if the mobility scooter will be used on roads and not only sidewalks and paths.

To be comfortable, both the owner’s weight and height should be tested on a range of mobility scooters, however the 3 wheel electric scooters offer the best room for longer legs. Many scooters offer swivel seats to assist in getting on and off the scooter.

To be able to transport and transfer the mobility scooter in and out of a car or van, then compact mobility scooters offer the light compact design to meet the space limitations of trunks, the back of an SUV or van, buses and trains. Many scooters offer the ability to fold or disassemble with ease.

If a lighter compact mobility scooter is the right choice, then a natural benefit is that the battery and motor will not have to work as hard to perform it’s functions and the duration and daily battery life will last longer. If the owner requires a larger and thus heavier mobility scooter, and duration and range are a concern, then additional batteries should be considered to handle those requirements. This in itself will add considerable weight as batteries, especially lead batteries, are very dense and heavy.

For some, the chance to be mobile brings with it other concerns, such as how to transport additional devices and tools required to move around. Many electric mobility scooters come with extended storage and carrying capacity to accommodate those needs, and planning should be required to make sure that accessories are available for the scooter chosen should there be a need in the future for other features such as extended carrying capacity.

The Ajax Motor Vehicle company in New York City started building “electric runabouts” in the very early 1900′s, roughly the same time that the electric scooter entered popular culture with a reference in an early Popular Mechanics article. Ransomes started making an electric cycle in the early 1920s, followed by a French company “Applications Electro-Mecaniques” developed the Electrocyclette in 1927. Essentially a trike, it had 2 wheels in the front and one in the back.

The fuel shortages in World War II prompted creative alternatives to locomotion. Inventor Earle Williams attempted to convert a gas powered cycle to electric, thus creating the ParCar, developed by Marketeer Co. At the same time, a European business called Socovel manufactured 400 electric mopeds in Austria.

A number of advancements came out of the 60s and 70s, namely alkali fuel cell development from Union Carbide, land speed records, and mass produced street legal electric scooters.

The French company Peugeot created the first truly mass marketed electric scooter in 1996, called the Scoot’Elec, a moped. With body parts used in it’s gas powered cousin the Zenith, It featured an 18V ni-cad battery tucked behind the operators feet under the seat, an onboard charger, and a charging cable with plug. It took only 5 hours to completely recharge the battery.

Most recently, a lithium ion fuel cell powered motorcycle called the Killacycle set the record for the world’s fastest electric bike by traveling a quarter mile in 7.824 seconds at a top speed of 168 mph, breaking it’s previous record setting run of 9.4 seconds at 152 mph.