I bought a small scooter to commute to work. My car gets about 30mpg, the scooter gets 100. Even so, using a spreadsheet I found on MSN money my breakeven point is over 3 years. My scooter was dirt cheap, $350. The person who made the spreadsheet bought a Vespa for over $4000, his breakeven point isn’t for almost 12 years. I bought it to save wear and tear on my car more than to save the environment.
I'd like a similar scooter but I'd be road kill within a minute of leaving my street.