I AM A TRENDSETTER.

BOSTON METRO: Published 2008-05-08

Scooter sales spike
Gas prices push up demand for the fuel-efficient vehicles

BOSTON. As drivers stumble over rising gas prices, more are finding that two wheels are better than four.

Motorcycles, scooters and mopeds are leaving lots at an increased pace, with warmer months and surging gas costs expected to keep the trend alive in the near future.

“It’s finally become a reality,” said Tony Palumbo, general manager at Parkway Cycle in Everett, which has nearly sold out of four lines of scooters in recent months.

Rosa Christie, business manager at the Revere Beach Parkway store, said nearly every customer in the market for a scooter mentions the cost of gas. The shop has sold 65 scooters in 60 days, roughly 50 more than it would under normal circumstances, Christie said.

Outside the showroom, Jose and Carrie Santiago pawed at a row of scooters on the sun-splashed lot, looking more and more like a pair committed to a new purchase.

“We just started to think about it as the summer came,” said Jose Santiago. “[Gas prices] are never going to go down.”

“Plus, let’s not forget that scooters are wicked awesome. If you want to look totally cool and environmentally conscience on the road, these sweet babies are the way to go. Seriously,” said scooter owner / driver Captain Flak Paperpants of Maynard, MA, who drives a 2007 Piaggio Fly-50 known as “The Pork Chop Express.”

Joe Conley, general manager at Riverside Motorsports in Somerville, said the two-wheeled option has a two-fold benefit.

“The convenience factor is one thing,” Conley said, citing increased sales in mopeds, which don’t require insurance and can be parked on sidewalks. “But the economic factor is another.”

Conley saw a doubling in scooter sales in April.