Many small motor scooters get about eighty miles-per-gallon of gas. That's why more people are using them to stretch gas dollars.

Nationwide and here in the Midstate, a small revolution is going on. Over the past couple of years motor scooter sales are up two-hundred percent according to manufacturers.

"People that would never look at even look at a motorcycle, women, are considering scooters," said Duanne Summers of Yamaha of Camp Hill. "The female market. They really seem to have a lot of interest in it."

You can credit a scooter's high mileage and ease of operation for much of the interest.

"Most scooters are all full automatic as far as controls," said Summers. "It's just a throttle and hand brake controls. There's no transmission or clutch to use for shifting."

Abc27 News Producer Elizabeth Harner of Susquehanna Towship rides a scooter. With gas pushing three-dollars -and-fifty-cents a gallon, she finds the scooter is a great way to get around. "I thought this would be a fun way to save gas I guess," said Harner. "And it gets about eighty miles to the gallon." Harner says she always wears a helmet when riding. "You're out in the open," said Harner. "You don't have a metal cage around you so you really have to be aware of other drivers and what they're doing."

Despite that she says the 15-hundred-dollar investment is well worth it. "No regrets at all. I'm very happy I got it."

Any new scooter or motorcycle rider may want to consider Penndot's free rider safety course. You can find out more at the program website, www.pamsp.com.

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