Pay Cuts Force Ryan Tubridy to Downgrade his Ride…

The recession is tough, isn’t it? So tough that Ryan Tubridy has had to downgrade his ride and make do with a blue Vespa scooter. Harsh, right?

The Irish Sun reports that the RTE host is slowly coming to terms with his recent 30 per cent wage cut and has been spotted out and about on a motorised hairdryer, ahem, sorry, we mean a scooter.

Ryan took a spin to Bray on the scooter yesterday so he could broadcast live on 2fm. Ryan, who is usually seen driving around on four wheels instead of two, apparently bought the Vespa so he could get himself around town during the summer months.

Now, we’re sorry, but we totally associate Vespas with being slightly girly. Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, anyone? In fact, we sort of want a pink one pimped out with the Her.ie logo. Can someone ring up Xzibit and get him to pimp a ride for us, stat?

Ryan on a Vespa: We hope he wears a helmet when he's out on the road!

Anyway, Ryan revealed that he’s expecting to take a massive 30 per cent “and beyond” salary slash during the rest of the year, and surprisingly enough, he’s happy to accept the cuts which would see his salary dropping by a massive €150,000 to a measly €373,000 a year.

Well Ryan, if it makes you feel any better, you’ll still be richer than 99.9% of us…any chance of a loan?

“I’ll be taking a pay cut of 30 per cent and beyond. That’s the world we live in. It is in excess of 30 per cent. It’s down to the economic demands of our time,” said Ryan, speaking about his wage cut recently.

In the past Ryan has always maintained that he is not motivated by money.

“I just love talking to people – that’s it. I will go along with changes that are made because of the times we now live in,” he said, speaking to the Irish Sun a while ago.

What’s next? Kathryn Thomas riding around on a push bike? Marty Whelan using a skateboard? Who knows?!