file photo
Brightly colored scooters are showing up on streets and sidewalks throughout Steamboat Springs.
Sales soaring for scooters
Steamboat nearly sold out of economical rides as gas prices rise
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Steamboat Springs — Businessmen are riding them. Hard-working women are forking over thousands for them. And even grandmothers can't get enough of them.
Brightly colored scooters are showing up on streets and sidewalks throughout Steamboat Springs and beyond. The proof is in the numbers.
"I'd say sales (of scooters) are up 400 percent this year," Todd Brehmer, sales manager at Planet Powersports in Riverside Plaza, said Friday.
There are only three scooters left in his inventory and he said they're the last to go only because people aren't crazy about the purple paint job. His next shipment won't come in until late August.
"Nobody can get them anywhere," Brehmer said, adding that a dealership in California had recently called and offered to buy his inventory - or what was left of it.
All kinds of people are buying them, Brehmer said, including grandmothers. He owns one himself, a vintage model "to putz around in." At the last dealership he worked at, he said every single salesman had one.
"People are sick of high gas prices, and they're thinking about alternative ways to get around," Brehmer said. Sales associate Joel Mayne chimed in, "and people are getting used to seeing them on the roads." They are easy to ride and can be parked anywhere, Mayne said, including sidewalks.
Steamboat Springs resident Tracy Goldstein owns a red 2005 Honda Elite and rides it whenever she can. Even in the winter, she said, she can put on a warm jacket and get around town as long as the roads are plowed.
Goldstein loves her scooter because "it's light, it goes everywhere and it's totally fun." Her 2-year-old Matisse poodle, Mia, loves to ride, too. Goldstein tucks Mia into a papoose-style carrying case and takes her along for errands. There's a basket strapped to the back of the scooter, where Goldstein carries supplies for her cleaning business.
Goldstein's husband bought the scooter for her about three years ago for about $800. Since then, she said, she has spent about $150 dollars on maintenance for a new tire, oil and a new battery. Gas mileage isn't bad, either.
"It used to only cost me $2 to fill up the tank but now it's $4," she said.
Smaller scooters get up to 100 miles per gallon, Brehmer said, and the max speed tops out at about 38 mph. To drive the smallest scooter - a 49cc - no motorcycle license is necessary, just a valid driver's license. For anything larger, drivers need a motorcycle license.
Brehmer said the scooters are better for paved roads because ruts and bumps can cause damage. He also recommended that drivers wear a helmet and be aware of other cars on the road.
"Scooters are small and hard to see," he said. "Drivers need to be mature."
- To reach Kristi Mohrbacher, call 870-1376
or e-mail kmohrbacher@steamboatpilot.com
Comments
paststudent 4 years, 12 months ago
How great! Now with tourists and the construction for the summer, hopefully this can ease the traffic burden.
ColoradoNative 4 years, 12 months ago
When I read the city was going to waste 100k on a traffic study last year I suggested they purchase scooters for full time residents of downtown steamboat instead.
At $800 bucks a unit we could alleviate a lot of the problems down there.
cybergypsy 4 years, 12 months ago
I hope everyone who is jumping on the Scooter Bandwagon stops for a minute to realize how dangerous these "totally fun" vehicles are. They are too slow to keep up with traffic and most roads don't have a shoulder wide enough for them to be safely out of the travel lane. Cars can come up on scooters quickly and then must either brake emergently or swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting them...both of these scenarios could have tragic consequences. Remember, the scooter is really no different than a very small motorcycle (thus the need for a motorcycle license) and hundreds of motorcyclists are killed every year because the drivers of the cars, many of whom are distracted while driving, didn't see them. I hope and pray that a scooter tragedy doesn't have to happen in Steamboat before people understand the inherent danger in operating these motor vehicles.
ColoradoNative 4 years, 12 months ago
Too slow to keep up with traffic? Do you live in Steamboat gypsy? A 50cc scooter can easily go 40mph. Explain to me where you can go faster than that in city limits?
On a side note I walked through downtown yesterday. I heard several tourists comment on how dangerous crossing the road was.
What a shame that our focal point of our community is dangerous.
cybergypsy 4 years, 12 months ago
ColoradoNative - I lived in Steamboat for 12 years, long enough to know that the city speed limits are often ignored...and these vehicles are not limited to use within the city. But rest assured, I am not the type to write a comment a month from now to say "I told you so..."
Matthew Stoddard 4 years, 12 months ago
Also, were the people complaining about crossing the street actually at a crosswalk with a light or were they trying to cross in the middle of the block?
424now 4 years, 12 months ago
Scooters are a start.
Transportation reform will need to be essentially simple for the public to buy into it. Specifically Tourists will require a turnkey access that is literally in their collective faces or they will use the same SUV they came here in to navigate around town. Now, Public Bicycles will get everyone out of the auto and onto two wheels for a cleaner and much more economic solution.
Hey City Hall!
Please review these links.
Bicycle sharing system
http://www.strans.org/pubbikes.html
http://www.cyclepods.co.uk/Cyclepods.htm
http://carsharingus.blogspot.com/2007/06/public-bicycle-systems.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301753.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3A*%3AIE-Address&rlz=1I7GGLR&q=Public+Bicycles&btnG=Search
weststmbtres 4 years, 12 months ago
They are not being driven just in the city limits. A couple weeks ago I was in a half mile long line of traffic from Elk River Road all the way to Steamboat II following some fool going 35mph in the 50mph zone right down the middle of the traffic lane on US40 on one of these things.
He pulled into the turning lane when going past Silver Spur and allowed a few cars to pass. However, he proceeded to drive right through the turning lane past cars waiting to turn left on 40 from Silver Spur. Then he cut right back in front of cars at the end of the lane slowing the whole procession to a crawl again.
hubiem 4 years, 12 months ago
i keep seeing younger kids riding around on these things and motorcycles wearing sandals and shorts. i don't think people understand that the pavement will chew your toes right off if you have a wreck. if you are going to ride a scooter or motorcycle, you should wear sturdy shoes and some sort of long pants and long sleeves at the least. cotton does little to protect you, this is why the harley guys wear full leather jackets and chaps. be safe out there.
Jason Miller 4 years, 12 months ago
424 i dont know if you remember but steamboat use to have those yellow community bikes. I cant for the life of me remember the last time i saw one of those. The cyclocity program would be to practical for americans in general. Also even on a scooter or motorcycle you still got watch out for that "Right Hook" If you ever get a chance to vist Copenhagen,do it. That has to be the most bike friendly city in the world.
Jason Miller 4 years, 12 months ago
Heres a video for you 424. Do you notice how fit all the people look. This video is several years old though
Cycle Copenhagen - by JohnnyStardust
cybergypsy 4 years, 12 months ago
I am well aware of that crazy invention called the motorcycle...I have more than 30,000 motorcycle miles under by butt (I am a woman and ride my own, very safely so far). I would rather see every scooter driver be on a real motorcycle.
424now 4 years, 12 months ago
Very cool programs in Copenhagen. That is precisely the kind of programs that can be reviewed and tweaked to fit a Steamboat.
I thought those yellow bikes were a rental deal the mountain was running. My question is, "why can't we make it easier for people to use a bike than an automobile?" Cell phone rental capability makes it easy. Rental costs would need to reflect actual upkeep and maintenance expenses. Can a reasonably large scale bicycle program work in the boat?
Dukebets 4 years, 12 months ago
cybergypsy - Were you aware that there was a crazy invention 50+ years ago called the motorcycle?
424now 4 years, 12 months ago
Tuff_Guy
First some did. Then a few more. After awhile it was like thing, A grassroots movement. People just kept staying. They would come to the boat, Love the place and look to making a future here. I did. Thats why I am here. The fact is I still love it here so I figure I'll stick around. I'm sure you can handle that. After all your a tough guy.
Joe_Mama 4 years, 12 months ago
lol@424
BAR_UE 4 years, 12 months ago
Scooters are a great little fair weather personal urban transportation solution for people who don't want to peddle and who probably shouldn't be driving a real motorcycle anyway.
Not enough horsepower to get out of the way for my taste, but easier than peddling your butt uphill on Fish Creek Falls road.
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