Scooters Relieve the Gas Price Pain

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Imagine filling up your gas tank for less than $15. Some Americans are doing it — and they're doing it on two wheels.

Motorized scooters have emerged as the new transportation of choice for some Americans fed up with gas prices that have surged past $4 a gallon.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)
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Motorized scooters have emerged as the new transportation of choice for some Americans fed up with gas prices that have surged past $4 a gallon. Though the small, zippy vehicles aren't ideal for every purpose, some owners say they're great for short trips and running errands.

Chris Maxwell recently purchased a Yamaha Majesty scooter to ride around the small town of Natchez, Miss.

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"It gets 50 to 60 miles a gallon in town and a full tank lasts two to three weeks," she said. "Right now it costs under $12 to fill it up, so we immediately get a $200 a month 'pay raise' from the lower fuel costs."

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Shawn Pointer, of Kenosha, Wis., said he often straps in his four-pound Chihuahua, Missy, for rides down to a local river on his 2007 Honda Metropolitan.

Pointer bought the blue and white scooter for $1,600 but pays only about $10 a month to fill its 1.2 gallon tank.

The scooter gets roughly 100 miles a gallon so he can travel 120 miles for $4. The same trip in the typical car would cost nearly $18.

New York resident Austin Rommett fills his scooter with fuel at a gas station in New York on Sunday, June 8, 2008.

"It's very cheap to ride," he said. "The only downfall is that you can't take it out on the freeway or highway. But, to take it out on the town is one of the best investments I ever made. I could ride that thing forever and the gas gauge barely moves."

Scooter Sales

Joel Metter, 51, the general manager at the New York Motorcycle shop and a scooter owner himself, says that these days, people who walk into his store are "totally green" – they're new to scooter purchases and are excited about saving some money.