On Two Wheels Part 6: The economics bit

So I've crunched some of the numbers in a bid to find out whether life on two wheels would cost an arm and a leg, or whether it would be feasible to abandon the Tube.

Getting the Tube and DLR to work from home costs me £2.20 each way - that's £22 per week or roughly £1,034 a year (based on five weeks' holiday).

So if the Vespa's going to be a serious alternative it has to come in at around that figure - a pretty tall order, especially as the initial set up fee on TfL is a £3 deposit on an Oyster card.

To give the scooter a chance I've decided to split the cost in two, looking first at running and commuting costs and then at scooter prices.

The most obvious running cost is fuel. Since I've had the Vespa, I've spent an average of £5.22 per week on petrol - that's about £245.35 per year.

Insurance, through scooterinsurance.net based on my details, comes in at £399 fully comp or £249 third party for a year and road tax is just £15.

When commuting to the Wharf, the only other cost incurred is parking at £2 per day or around £470 per year.

All in, with the cheaper insurance option, it looks pretty good, with a yearly total of around £979.35 - efectively a saving of £54.65 on TfL.

But it's not that simple, unless you have a wealthy relative who's keen to buy you a scooter for nothing.

When you factor in the cost of the vehicle initially, riding becomes substantially more expensive.

The Vespa LX 125 I've borrowed retails for around £2,869 new. So, 52-and-a-half years down the line it will have paid for itself assuming the rate of saving remains constant. and you never have to get it serviced.

Worse still, I've yet to add associated costs such as buying a helmet - mine is priced at around £140 - and the cost of the CBT, let alone paying out for the motorcycle test and getting embroiled in a whole world of clothing and accessories.

So in answer to the question, "Is riding a cheaper option that public transport?", the answer is no.

So the question for the commuter then becomes, "Is it worth it?"

In previous columns I've tackled the various pros and cons of commuting on two wheels rather than four from a purely practical point of view.

I've also talked about the enjoyment factor in comparison to cramming oneself onto a crowded Tube or DLR carriage, as well as the disadvantages such as wet weather and its impact on the acres of time for reading, working and thinking on the train.

But when I leave my flat I have to walk in all weathers for 10-15 minutes to get on a Tube. Then I am the mercy of the system. If it decides to stop for 20 minutes in between two stations - that's it. I'm late.

If the DLR has lost another train in the Westferry triangle or is only running services to Beckton from Bank - that's it. I'm late.

At the end of a long day, when I look out of One Canada Square and see a crowd of people outside the Jubilee line station so opt for the DLR, only to be told there's a signal problem - that's it, I may as well go and do another hour's work.

But with a scooter it's always outside when I leave in the mornings and it has yet to leave without me at the end of the day.

The only things really out of my control are traffic lights and whether the Canary Wharf security guard ushers me left into the stop-and-search lane when coming onto the estate.

I've been stopped twice so far. Neither time has anybody searched my bag, but both times I've faced a tough interrogation on how much my Vespa cost.

Whether you think paying around £96 per month plus all the other one-off costs associated with riding to avoid these irritations is worth it, is really up to you.