Speeding up. They're even being stolen now.
It costs Cheryl Norris just $6 to $8 a month to fill up the vehicle she uses to get to work, run small errands, go to church and even to visit her mother across town."I fill up about once every three weeks," she said. "That's it."
For about two years, weather permitting, the Lafayette woman has favored riding a Tomos mo-ped, or motorized bicycle, not her car with a 15-gallon tank.
Norris said the scooter gets between 80 and 100 miles a gallon, saving her about $120 a month in fuel costs.
As the price of gasoline -- a gallon of regular unleaded hit a national high of $4 this past weekend -- continues to climb, so does the demand for the fuel-efficient scooters, some Lafayette-area retailers say.
Action Motor Sports typically has between 30 and 40 motorized bikes available for purchase.
On Tuesday, that number was 10, general manager J.D. Corey said.
"We've seen a big increase in scooter sales over the last 90 days," he said. "Motorcycles also. But it's the scooters that are becoming a rare item."