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October 16, 2005
Riding planes, trains - and scootersFinding some alternatives to the automobileByRecord-Eagle staff writer Like many people in the region, Jane Karel drives an SUV and commutes to Traverse City for work. But with gas prices the way they are now, she's looking for ways to get around without a car. Enter her black-and-tan Yamaha Vino scooter, a birthday gift from her Maple City roommate. "I'm 67, with a pacemaker and two fake hips," said Karel, who nevertheless drives the scooter on errands to the local post office and for visits to her brother's cottage on Glen Lake. "It's just so fun." What the scooter lacks in speed - it tops out at about 33 miles an hour, she estimates - it makes up for in fuel economy. While the average U.S. fuel economy for cars and light trucks was 20.8 mpg last year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "this gets a gazillion miles a gallon," Karel said. That, combined with their attractive price and mobility, is why many people buy mopeds to get around town, said Matt Luckey, a sales associate at Great Escapes Motorsports. "You can ride them anywhere around town and you can scoot through traffic three times easier," he said. The same can be said of bicycles, which is why Bob McLain wouldn't be surprised to see more people cycling to work as gas prices rise. "We went through the '80s when it wasn't a matter of gas being high but of gas not being available, and that's when people were really panicking," said McLain, owner of McLain Cycle in Traverse City. "That's when we did sell more bikes and people started commuting. "It's on everyone's mind, and if gas prices continue to jump to $3 and $4 dollars, I think you will see more and more people commuting." Mary Kuhn lives in the Traverse Heights neighborhood and rides her bike almost everywhere - and not just on Smart Commute Week in June. "I ride for shopping, to run errands," said Kuhn, who straps on a backpack for carrying parcels. "I almost try and play a game and see how much less I can use my car. You can make it fun." Though she also has a Saturn, Kuhn's 21-speed is her main mode of transportation. She put over 7,000 miles on it this summer alone, not counting in-town errands. Besides saving her money, she says cycling helps her stay in shape, keep in touch with neighbors and set an example for others. Best of all, she adds, it takes one more under-occupied vehicle off Traverse City's congested roads. According to the Michigan Department of State, there are 181,200 registered vehicles in the five-county Grand Traverse region, slightly more than half of them in Grand Traverse County. A registered nurse at Munson Medical Center, Kuhn said she plans to cycle even more in view of the recent gas hikes. "I really need to do it anyway and this pushed me to do it more," she said. "Devastating as it was, I think it has some plus signs - for people's health, for their (pocketbooks)." For people who don't live in town, public transportation can be a reasonable alternative to the daily commute, said Joe DeKoning, executive director of the Bay Area Transportation Authority. While that wasn't always the case, BATA's new Village Connector service is making it possible for people who live in rural areas to catch a bus in the morning, ride to Traverse City and hop aboard another bus to work - and still get there by 8 a.m. The first of four rural fixed routes planned in Leelanau and Grand Traverse Counties started in July and follows the M-22 corridor to Northport. Buses make five trips a day, stopping at 18 points along the way. One-way fares are just $2 for adults and $1 for senior citizens and people with disabilities. DeKoning hopes to have similar services up and running in Empire, Kingsley-Fife Lake and Interlochen by Thanksgiving. "As we continue with our Village Connector service, which is a scheduled service, not the old Dial-a-Ride thing, I think that more people will use it," he said. See Related Stories: Driving habits change as gas prices soar - October 16, 2005 In-town living looking more attractive - October 16, 2005 Getting innovative in response to high gas prices - October 16, 2005
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Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
