This summer I have found that I am sharing the road with a larger number of motorcycles, particularly during rush hour. Without taking the trouble to actually count, it seems to me that about 1 in 200 vehicles I see in rush hour traffic are motorcycles, noticeably higher than in years past.
Compared to driving an SUV, the motorcycle commuters spend less on maintenance and fuel. This comparison is especially favorable for those who had a motorcycle already, perhaps sitting around mostly unused.
Motorcycles are not as practical as they might seem — the fuel efficiency, for example, is not necessarily better than that of a commuter car — but still, the motorcycle commuter trend puts a exclamation point on the movement toward smaller vehicles.
