Whether serious or joking, people have been encouraged to ride bicycles to save money on fuel as prices have increased six times in the last seven years. However, Core Racing Ltd is asking people to seriously consider the option of a motorcycle to not only reduce fuel consumption, but also reduce their travel time.
Johann Andrews, co-founder of Core Racing Ltd – a motorcycle racing club – said before the gas price increase in September, he was saving $650 a month in gas by riding his bike instead of driving his car to and from work.
Using his circumstance as an example, he told Sunday Newsday he travelled from Trincity to Pt Lisas and back every workday. That was 72 km per day with no detours.
To full the gas tank of a 125cc-engine bike, it costs about $65 and, at an average riding pace, could last him about four to five days. On the other hand, a full tank of gas, which cost about $250, on a car with a 1600 cc engine, would last him three to four days.
In addition, depending on the weather conditions, it could take him between 40 to 45 minutes to ride to work, but an hour and a half to two hours to drive. Not to mention many drivers had to get on the road very early to beat the traffic or remain at work very late to avoid it.
[caption id="attachment_985470" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Johann Andrews does a wheelie at the recreational ground in Trincity. - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
He explained that the motorcycle was categorised as a light motor vehicle and, while riders had to obey the speed limit, there was no law against lane splitting or “riding on the white line.” He believed the government should officially allow lane splitting for properly trained riders.
“Since very few people carpool, if we encourage more people to buy smaller cc bikes, we would encourage less people in cars, which would reduce the drive time at peak traffic hours.
“If we have to move forward as a society I think that is something we should consider. Core is willing to work with the government to put measures in place to allow lane splitting, to reduce the traffic congestion.”
With benefits such as lower fuel consumption, less time on the road, and less of a carbon footprint, he said the only negative was that motorcyclists got wet when it rained.
To those who denounced motorcycles saying they were too dangerous he said, “Every day people crash and die in cars. Do we stop driving? Planes disappear, remember Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014? Did we stop flying? No! So why do we have this mentality towards motorcycles?”
He believed the negative reaction was due to a lack of knowledge and understanding, and Core wanted to change that.
[caption id="attachment_985469" align="alignnone" width="806"] Johann Andrews says learning to ride a motorcycle can help commuters reduce their gas bills. - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
The idea for Core Racing Ltd was born years ago when TT-based German professional motorcycle racer Wulf Gerstenmaier star
