Motorists seeking relief from high gas prices snatch up scooters

| DANNY GAWLOWSKI | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

• DO YOU NEED A LICENSE?

  Washington state Department of Licensing requires riders to get a motorcycle endorsement if they’re riding a motorcycle or scooter with an engine that’s 50cc or larger or one that goes faster than 30 mph on level ground.
  Learn more by going to www.endorseyoursport.com.

• Bikes helping take heat off high gas prices

"There's not a scooter shop in the country right now that isn't seeing an increase in sales," said Justin Daniels, sales manager for Chispa in Fairhaven.

Local scooter retailers said their sales have jumped by 40 to 80 percent over last year.

"It seems like they're shooting out of here with not much effort," O'Connell said.

Nationwide, scooter sales are up 66 percent this year through June, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.

"What you're seeing on the local level is playing out nationally," said Mike Mount, director of communications for the council.

People like Tammy Payton are driving that demand as the price for a gallon of gasoline in Whatcom County averages around $4.40.

The 33-year-old Everson resident and husband Greg each bought a scooter from Urbano Moto in Bellingham earlier this month. They paid a total of $4,190.

Before she bought her scooter, Payton said it cost her $150 a month to drive her truck to work and back home, a round trip of about 3 miles.

Her truck got 14 miles to the gallon, while her new scooter can go for 80 miles on one gallon.

"That's a huge difference," Payton said.

It cost $75 to fill the truck's gas tank three-quarter full. The cost to fill up her scooter? $6.

"My poor Chevy truck ... I haven't driven it since I got the scooter," said Payton, who also uses her new wheels for errands, sometimes with one of her two teen children along for the ride.

"My daughter now thinks we're totally cool parents," Payton said.

How many scooters have been sold locally or statewide is hard to gauge, because the Department of Licensing groups them with motorcycles.

But figures from DOL, which tracks registration of all new motorcycles, show that motorcycles are hot sellers when gas prices hit their usual summertime highs - usually from May through August. That, of course, is when the weather is typically nicer and sunnier.

DOL figures also show that the number of motorcycle endorsements issued to Whatcom County riders grew by nearly 13 percent since January 2007.

That increase is repeated statewide with new endorsements increasing by 10 percent, according to the DOL.

In another trend, local scooter retailers said they're seeing a shift in buyers from young college students looking for low-cost transportation alternatives - or those craving the stylish, more expensive appeal of the classic Vespa - to older customers who are buying for purely practical reasons.

"They want function over form. It's changed the game a little bit," Daniels said.

"It is a good cost-saving measure," said Alan Taylor, co-owner of Urbano Moto, who said his current buyers are 40 to 80 years old.

Scooters can get 60 to 100 miles to the gallon. That's a big draw for budget-conscious buyers, who also discover an unexpected side effect.

"Every day we talk to more and more people who want to do something about the high price of oil - and have fun at the same time," Taylor said.

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