By Gail Waterhouse
With average gas prices in Boston at nearly $3.45 per gallon, according to AAA’s website, transportation in an already expensive city is no bargain, especially for college students on limited budgets.
Although bicycles and public transportation are less expensive than owning a car in the city, some people in the Boston area have been turning to an increasingly popular alternative: scooters.
Vespas, a well-known brand of scooter manufactured by the Italian company Piaggio, come in a variety of colors, like Portofino Green or Montebianco White. Each Vespa seems to have its own flash of European style.
The Massachusetts-based vehicle dealership Herb Chambers opened a Vespa dealership in Allston in 2001, and General Manager Diodoro Mayen said sales have increased rapidly in recent years, climbing 50 percent in the past two years.
Scooters have long been a popular way of getting around European cities and countrysides, and until recently, have been a rare sight in the United States, said Mayen. As interest in money saving modes of transportation increases, so has the popularity of the scooter.
“It wasn’t really until two years ago that people began to notice us,” he said.
The recent popularity of scooters has also prompted the creation of online scooter dealerships like euromopeds.com, a website created earlier this year by two local Bostonians, Max Versace and Heather Ames. Some fanatics have formed scooter groups like the group CityScoots, which has 64 members, and the Greater Boston Scooter Club, which has 77 members. Both groups meet regularly for scoots around the city.
Students on co-op or who have jobs outside Northeastern might find scooters to be a more efficient and cost-effective mode of transformation.
Andy Prior, a junior American Sign Language and psychology double major, said he bought his Vespa this past June.
“I was commuting back and forth … from where I live in the South End to my work downtown,” he said. “A bunch of people I work with have [scooters] and it worked out that with the money I was spending on the T, it would be cheaper to get a scooter.”
Mayen said scooters are a great way to save money and can carry 2.3 gallons in one tank.
“[Vespas] get great mileage,” he said. Depending on the model, Vespas get “between 70 and 80 miles per gallon,” he said.
Although some Vespas can often be seen parked throughout campus, some people still think scooters are an unusual sight. Prior said he often receives comments from passersby, and that some people are surprised when they see him on his scooter.
“They think it’s this crazy foreign object,” he said. “People can’t really believe it.”
Maura Grealish, a sophomore criminal justice major, said she still regards scooters as a novelty.
“I’m still at that point that when I see [scooters], I notice them,” Grealish said. “I see plenty of bikes, so I don’t notice them anymore, but scooters are still out of the ordinary.”.
Mayen said he believes Vespas will continue their rise in popularity, especially in Boston, which he said is a great city for scooter use.
“Boston’s the perfect city [for scooters]. Everything’s close together. You can just park your Vespa on the sidewalk and go,” he said.
Others aren’t sure whether scooters are necessary for traveling in the city.
Ellie O’Connell, a middler human services major, said she has enough transportation options without a scooter.
“You don’t really need a scooter here. You could just use the T or ride a bike instead,” O’Connell said.
While the debate about the practicality of scooters continues, Akilah Blackman, a freshman biology major, said scooters aren’t just about saving money.
“They’re definitely a lot of fun,” she said.
