Student's scooter design for green Olympic travel
I remember a few years back, everyone thought it was terribly trendy to ride around on those little silver scooters. I had one, and quite happily whizzed around town in it until I realised that all of my fellow riders were below the age of ten.
A braver green would no doubt continue to travel by Micro Scooter, brushing aside the pointing and laughing of passers by, but I'm ashamed to say mine found a more suitable home on Ebay. But it seems the scooter's lifespan as a respectable form of transport may not be over yet, as a Salford University student has designed a special “throwaway” scooter to help people get around London during the 2012 Olympics,
Gareth Neal, from the School of Art & Design, was inspired to work on the environmentally friendly design following a university field trip to Amsterdam, where adults are quite happy to be seen scooting around town. And it occurred to Neal that the scooters would be perfect as a means of transport during the London Olympics. “Everyone in Amsterdam travels around on bicycles,” he said. “They operate a drop-off system where people can pick up a bike at one location, ride it to their destination and then drop it off for someone else to use.
“I thought it would be a great idea to introduce a system like that over here. It would be particularly good during the Olympics for people who need to get from one stadium to another – they’re quite a long way apart.” Gareth’s prototype is made from environmentally-sustainable materials, including reconstituted timber board, so there’s minimal impact on the environment, and the scooter can be recycled when it is no longer needed.
