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As a college student who is considering buying a motor vehicle in the not-too-distant future, I am interested in either a car or a moped.

As of now, I'd prefer a moped: they're cheaper, more fuel-efficient, and can park in smaller spaces: perfect for zipping around campus or to neighboring towns on state highways. However, there's one major sticking point: I need my vehicle to be able to take me from my college in the Northeastern U.S. to my home down South (roughly 2 days' journey).

Is this a good idea on a moped? Could I travel on Interstates with large trucks, climb up and down mountains, navigate rush hour in major cities, etc? Could I do all this with a backpack on my back, possibly for hours at a time? Or, is any of this a death wish? (I suspect I know the answer, but man I want a moped...)

Edited for clarity: By "moped", I mean a large motorized scooter, like a Vespa or a Honda Cub. All the answers seem to understand this, but given the existence of motorized kick scooters, I figured I should clarify for anyone reading this in the future.

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    Riding a moped for 2 solid days will be extremely exhausting, both mentally and physically - they are not intended for such extended duration rides. This will add to it not being a good idea. All consider that the safest speed to be traveling at will be the speed that the rest of the traffic will be traveling at. So if you can't keep upon your chosen route that is even worse.
    – Peter M
    Sep 28, 2022 at 21:38
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    It's a terrible idea. Even on a big bike that has 'presence' and can stay with the traffic, it's a major undertaking, even for an experienced rider. But you could leave the moped in college and go home by bus, train or plane. It's not an either-or situation surely?
    – Weather Vane
    Sep 28, 2022 at 22:21
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    If by "moped" you mean that which New York State calls a "limited use motorcycle" then you should be aware that the top speed of such a vehicle must be 40 m.p.h or less. If the top speed is over 30 m.p.h., you need a motorcycle license. Most interstates have a minimum speed of 45 m.p.h., so no, you couldn't travel on interstates.
    – phoog
    Sep 28, 2022 at 22:31

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Riding a moped for extended Periods is no fun. They are really handy in the city and fun to drive there but when driving long distances it becomes boring fast. Also your back will not thank you for sitting on a moped for 2 days (Also if its cold outside your hands will be freezing). But they´re cheap and dont need a lot of gas, so I´d recommend getting one for the city where your college is and going home by train or plane. I think with the current gas prices this may be even cheaper than driving.

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    If you are outside and freezing, that just means you are not wearing appropriate clothing.
    – Peter M
    Sep 29, 2022 at 15:38
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Moped is generally assumed to be essentially a bicycle with a motor, usually a small motor (<50cc or electrical equivalent). Those don't go very far or very fast.

Moped has to have a license plate and you have to have a motorcycle license, to be able to ride it on a public rode in most States. Some US States do not allow mopeds on highways, and/or restrict how fast you can ride moped on a public road. See details here (check with the local DMVs to make sure the article is up to date for each State you're interested in).

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    "Moped" also seems to be used these days for Vespa-type vehicles that have no pedals, presumably because "motor scooter" is seen to be ambiguous now that kick scooters with motors have become common. But without any pedals, I don't see how "moped" is a better term.
    – phoog
    Sep 28, 2022 at 22:23
  • @phoog I checked CA DMV (I live in CA), they address this by just dealing with the motor size (<50cc or >50cc).
    – littleadv
    Sep 28, 2022 at 22:52
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    It's not just these days. In the UK, a moped has been a Vespa-type vehicle for the last 50 years at least.
    – matt freake
    Sep 29, 2022 at 11:45
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Other than legal questions, the answer is, "Yes, you can do all those things."

However: (1) you are limited to thirty miles per hour, and (2) I doubt it will survive very many two-day trips.  I used a moped to go to and from work, eleven miles.  In a few months, the engine locked up.

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  • For what it's worth, my choice was a Brompton folding bicycle. It was my main transportation for years. I could fold it and carry it into most places instead of risking theft. Folded halfway, it doubled as a shopping cart. And when schedule or whatever prevented me using it for a trip, I could fold it and carry it onto plane, bus, or ferry (or put it in the trunk of a car).
    – WGroleau
    Sep 28, 2022 at 23:13
  • Which Brompton fits typical carry-on luggage size restrictions?
    – MastaBaba
    Sep 28, 2022 at 23:23
  • They advertised it as fitting in a typical overhead bin. It will fit in those of the larger planes. HOWEVER, most of the airlines I was on refused to let me carry it on unless it was in a bag—and the bag made it not fit! Southwest is an exception; their bins are bigger. Consequently, I've had to check it on planes but not on trains and buses. I generally tow a trailer containing my supplies. at an airport, I empty the trailer, put the bike in it, check that, and carry on the backpack and smaller bag.
    – WGroleau
    Sep 29, 2022 at 3:02
  • Thanks. I checked a few Bromptons again after your comment, as I had looked into this before. The long-end of a Brompton is about 65cm, whereas the typical maximum allowed long end, for hand luggage, is around 55cm. I would love to be able to take a foldable bike onto a plane as hand luggage and just cycle out of the airport upon arrival.
    – MastaBaba
    Sep 29, 2022 at 12:51
  • That's interesting. Did the airlines reduce the limit or Brompton change the design? That point in 2016 was the reason I paid three times the price of a Korean model that was larger. Unless my 68-year-old memory is malfunctioning, I even set the thing into one of those "does it fit?" frames at an airport.
    – WGroleau
    Sep 29, 2022 at 14:29

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