Tired of getting stuck in traffic jams? Weary of trying to find parking in the city centre? The answer may not be so far away. In fact, you might notice it buzzing past your window as you sit stationary in your car during rush-hour.
It is, of course, the scooter, an ever-present but oft-maligned mode of transport which is enjoying something of a revival as grid-lock reigns in Dublin and other urban areas.
Sales of new 50 cc bikes in the first five months of the year were up by 12 per cent on the same period in 1997. This continues a trend in which 1,393 such bikes were sold last year, a three-fold increase on 1994.
The new owners are not born-again Mods trying to relive the scooter craze of the 1960s. Nor are they predominantly, in the words of one scooter dealer, "young girls tottering along with their shopping baskets" who, fairly or not, got much of the blame for turning many image-conscious young professionals off mopeds.
Instead, they are solicitors, office workers and businesspeople, people like Jonathan Stanley (37), a Dublin retail executive who, frustrated at spending so much time travelling between meetings, last July bought a 250 cc Suzuki Bergman. "It saves me up to one and a half hours each day: 30 or 40 minutes going to work in the morning, 30 minutes at the end of the day and at least 20 minutes during the day if I'm going to a meeting."
The greatest benefit, he says, is that it eliminates uncertainty about journey times. If he had to go from his office in Walkinstown to Rathmines it would take him up to 40 minutes by car between negotiating traffic and finding parking. "On the bike it takes me 15 minutes. You move along at 15 or 20 mph but you are moving."
Costing more than £4,000, his bike is at the upper end of the scooter market. However, he says, "if you are used to buying a car it is very cheap." It costs £5.40 to fill the tank, which will allow him to travel up to 280 kilometres.
Motorcycle retailers can barely hide their delight about the surge in sales after some lean years in the industry. The number of bikes on Irish roads decreased sharply from 39,235 in 1972 to 22,700 in 1990, but since rose to 23,847 in 1996.
While the launch of more stylish scooter models has helped to push sales upwards, "traffic is the main reason" behind the trend, says Mr Graham Ruttle, owner of The New Gem motorcycle shop in Ranelagh. "People can't cope with it anymore. Most people that buy a bike save a minimum of two hours a day. That's 10 hours, or at least one working day, a week. They're easy to ride. There are no parking costs and insurance is relatively cheap."
His shop is now selling up to 20 mopeds a week with customers ranging from high-ranking civil servants to company directors.
One group of professionals which has been an early convert to the technology is solicitors. A number of city firms now use scooters to ferry documents back and forth from their offices to the Four Courts. It shouldn't go unnoticed either that the company which has been charged with responsibility for clamping illegally parked vehicles in Dublin uses mopeds to reach penalised car owners.
"It really starts to register with people when they see mopeds flying past them in traffic," says Mr Leonard O'Kelly manager of the Kawasaki Centre on Wexford Street. "We're seeing a huge demand for 50 cc bikes from guys in suits who would not normally get on a bike."
With improved scooter designs, he says, riders are now afforded almost complete protection from the elements and need only wear light rain gear. The stability of mopeds on uneven roads, a long-held concern among many potential buyers, has also been improved with better tyres and suspension systems.
However, a fresh problem has emerged with the growth in popularity of scooters, namely an increase in the rate of theft. A spokeswoman for Norwich Union, the only Irish company to provide insurance to motorcyclists, said thieves were particularly targeting classic Italian models such as the Piaggio Vespa, enjoying a new lease of life with the help of patrons such as Damon Albarn of the rock band Blur.
"We've noticed a huge increase in mopeds on our books," she added. "They're a lot more smart-looking now and seem to have lost the `hairdryer' tag. It seems to be a bit yuppie-ish now to have a moped."
However, Mr Jack Nolan, president of the Irish Motorcycle Dealers Association, says Ireland still has a long way to go to catch up with other European countries. "Even the UK, which has a similar climate, is more motorcycle conscious."
According to figures from the Irish Motorcyclists' Action Group, motorcycles account for only 1.76 per cent of the total vehicle fleet here compared to a European average of 14.6 per cent. If the difference were made up it would translate to up to 50,000 cars being taken off Irish roads, "a far bigger effect than Luas", says Mr John Wheeler, general secretary of the group.
He adds that studies show that 17 out of every 20 cars in rush-hour traffic have only one occupant. The same number of cars take up the space of 55 moving or 85 parked motorcycles. "It's the one solution that is neglected in discussions of traffic, but motorbikes have the potential to improve the situation for everybody on the roads."
