Published: June 29, 2008 11:08 am      

Some put away keys, turn to buses, scooters

TRAVERSE CITY -- Jan Nickerson doesn't mind walking to the Kingsley post office each day to make her public transit bus connection.

The money she saves by riding instead of driving steered her to the bus nearly two years ago.

Nickerson takes the Fife Lake/Kingsley Village Connector route offered by the Bay Area Transportation Authority three or four times a week to get to her job in Traverse City.

She's among many northern Michigan residents who are turning to alternative forms of transportation as a way to combat rising gas prices.

"I save about $300 to $400 per month, plus there are no impromptu visits to Kmart or Wal-Mart, so that probably saves me $500 a month," Nickerson said.

Nickerson's husband has driven a BATA bus the past four years.

The transportation agency that serves Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties used to focus more on providing rides for clients of governmental agencies, but commuters and shoppers are taking the bus with greater frequency.

"Now it's more like a public transit system you'd find in any metropolitan area," Nickerson said. "And the bus is always on time."

Other options exist for those who don't take the bus.

When gas jumped to $3.65 a gallon last year, Sherry Wild, also of Kingsley, set aside her sport utility vehicle and bought a scooter. Her first purchase was a Moped, a small, gas-powered scooter, and this year, she traded up for a Vespa 150cc, a scooter that carries a motorcycle designation, meaning she must ride with traffic, wear a helmet and get a motorcycle endorsement.

"It's been very relaxing and enjoyable, and much less expensive," she said.

Wild estimates she has saved $100 to $150 per month in gas, and her savings should increase this year since prices topped $4 per gallon.

Her Moped got about 100 miles per gallon, while the bigger scooter averages about 85 mpg. Wild drives her scooter everywhere -- weather permitting.

"I have a rain suit and a down jacket now. People laugh at me, but what else can you do?" she said.

Wild works as youth director at Grawn United Methodist Church and part-time at a local restaurant.

She's a United Methodist Minister candidate, and is required to perform substitute minister duties at various churches, so the scooter is a big savings for long commutes.

Wild has two teenage sons and lugging them to events in the family's Ford Expedition can cost a small fortune. The Vespa allows her to carry a passenger, so when she's ferrying only one son, she takes the scooter.

"We're really starting to have to make some choices about what we do. This allows us to do more things," Wild said.

Scooter sales and BATA ridership numbers are both on the rise, and there's little doubt gas prices are the reason.

Lori Watson, owner of Nature & Me RV and Vespa Traverse City, said scooter sales are up 40 percent over last year.

"I do know it definitely is gas-induced. Every time a news story comes out or gas prices go up, more people come in the door," Watson said.

Don Scharmen, BATA's interim executive director, said bus ridership increased 16 percent from 2007.

"A 2 to 3 percent increase is normal, so the 16 percent ridership increase from this year to last year is high," he said.