At first, I thought too much $. Then I started thinking of all the times I could take the moped to the store, or to work, or to see friends. Maybe 50% of the time I drive my car, I could ride the moped. Now, I bought a Prius 2 years ago. You know how much that cost? At $4/gal, and 50mpg, I figure I'm getting about 8 cents/mile in the Prius. The mopeds might drop it down to 2 cents/mile depending on how much your electric company charges for kilowatts. But a couple solar panels on the roof might offset that completely. Emissions are zero, although electricity generation needs to be considered - is it coal? hydro? nuclear? Lots of stuff to consider, but clearly the way to go for the future. No need to haul an entire car around just to transport myself, for all the times an electric moped would suffice. So all things considered, the price may be well worth it in the long run.

Yes, Keene's the kind of quintessential New England that's disappearing, I'm afraid. We've got our share of drivers on cell phones, but I think it's a perfect place to start introducing more electric vehicles and look at sustainable options. We have a limited "mass transit" system if you can call our trolley that. We used to have a railroad right through the middle of town. It would be awesome if I could get on the train again, and arrive in Boston or NYC on an express. But those rail beds are all trails now, and as much sense as electric rail makes, it would be a bittersweet compromise to take away the trails that so many people love. So, while we're going for individual transportation, electric 2-wheelers (and cars when needed) seem to be the way to go.