Phil Heidenreich
News Reporter

There will be an increased emphasis on scooters this year in Humber’s 2010 motorcycle rider training program, said program manager Andy Hertel.
“It’s long overdue,” program instructor Lenny Mammoliti said of the new attention to scooters. “In Europe it has been a main mode of transportation and we are behind. I see a huge upswing over the next five to seven years.”
The scooter trend has caught on in Toronto because of its fuel economy and free parking on sidewalks, said Hertel.
“We’ve moved our scooters down to the Lakeshore Campus this year to attract some of the downtown crowd,” said Hertel. “We’re also offering an ML license instead of just the M2L this year.”
The M-class license with L condition applies to limited-speed motorcycles such as scooters and mopeds.
The significance of the limited-speed motorcycle’s 2005 provincial implementation is that riders are tested on roads rather than parking lots and can acquire a permanent license said an Ontario Ministry of Transportation spokesperson.
Up until now, Humber only offered the M2L, which is valid for a maximum of five years, said Hertel.
Despite the increased emphasis on scooters this year, the primary focus of the program is for people looking to acquire their M2 license for motorcycles once they’ve passed the written M1 test, said Hertel.
Hertel projects an increase in students this year from the estimated 3,500 last year because of mild weather forecasts and because the province’s Drive Test centres were on strike last fall.
The three day program also offers maintenance courses and runs until late fall at North Campus, Lakeshore Campus and the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Andy Hertel, manager of the motorcycle rider training program. (Courtesy)