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Two Wheeled Transportation on
the Increase
The high cost of gasoline as a
result of the high cost of crude
oil on world markets has forced
Costa Ricans more ways to get
around town.
Many have begun using buses more
and those living a short
distance from work make it on
foot. However, a growing market
has been for scooters and
motorcycles.
According to Demtrio Pérez of
the Asociación de Importadores
de Motocicletas (AIMA) the
number of motorcycle sales have
been steadily increasing over
the last several years and
moreso this past year when
gasoline prices began setting
record levels.
The AIMA attributes the increase
in sales directly to the high
price of the combustible.
Peréz says that in 2002, 4.966
new motocycles/scooters were
sold in agencies across the
country. In 2003, the number of
sales of new motocycles/scooters
increased to 6.570 and in 2004
7.763 new motorcycles/scooters
were sold.
For the first three months of
thus year, 2.279 new motorcycles
were sold. Forecasts for this
year may reach 10.000 sales.
Two wheel transportation not
only saves on gasoline but time,
as the roads of downtown San
José become more congested each
day. Another benefit of a
motorcycle or scooter is the low
cost in maintenance. Repairs to
motorcycles and scooters take
less time and the cost is
dramatically lower than that of
a vehicle.
Peréz adds that the owners of
motorcylces/scooters are not the
only winners in this. With the
increased use of motorcylce/scooters,
the population in general
benefits also with lower
contamination and less traffic
congestion.
In Europe, major cities like
Rome, two wheel motorized
transportation is the favouite
way to get to an from work, as
well as shopping and
recreational use. Many
automobile owners also own a
scooter for the trip into town,
while the auto is for family
trips.
In San José, the demand for
scooters has increased. When
there was only one or two
dealers selling scooters, now
along the Avenida 10 and La
Uruca there are a half dozen
dealers selling scooters from
the original Vespa to the asian
and other european imports.
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