Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Gas prices soar, motorists seek alternatives
Gas prices have soared in the Tomah area and around the United States in 2008, and with speculation of $4 per gallon this summer, there is no relief in sight for Wisconsin motorists.
Gas prices continue to break local and national records. Local records were first topped in April when a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit $3.39 in La Crosse. That beat the previous record of $3.36 set in May of 2007, according to AASA and the Oil Price Information Service.
And the prices keep climbing. In the past two weeks, prices at the pump for unleaded gasoline in Tomah have jumped from $3.54, to $3.69, to $3.79. As of Friday, prices had fallen back down to $3.69.
Diesel fuel has also set national, state and local records this year. The high gas prices have also led to price increases for utilities. Several Tomah area residents voiced their concern about the rising gas prices last week.
Friday, crude oil prices closed at a record $128 per barrel.
Scooter sales
The closer gas prices get to $4 a gallon, the more people are walking into area scooter and moped dealers to see what they can save by traveling on two wheels, said Eric Williams, sales manager at Two Brothers Powersports in Onalaska.
Scooter and moped sales at the Onalaska store have tripled this year, said Williams.
Fuel prices played a huge role in that jump, he added.
“I’ve been doing this for five years, and I’ve never seen a demand for scooters and mopeds like there is this year,” he said.
Among the reasons people would prefer scooters and mopeds to other methods of transportation is they are economical, easy to park, have storage room and “they are fun to ride,” said Williams.
Anyone with a valid driver’s license can drive a moped, which usually gets between 90 to 110 miles per gallon, said Jason Wucki, sales manager at Two Brothers Powersports in La Crosse.
Mopeds have been selling particularly well at the La Crosse store, said Wucki. Sales are up at least 10 percent over last year, he said.
A moped’s top speed is about 35 to 40 mph, said Wucki, which makes them good for commuting inside a city or from two connected communities, such as Onalaska and La Crosse, he said.
Motorcycles, which require a motorcycle license, have had strong sales as well over the past three years, Wucki added.
Local reaction at the pump
“It is just killing everybody. It costs me $25 just to pick up my daughter in Mauston.” — Art Hanners, Oakdale resident
“From a business standpoint, it is killing business. I am in an excavating business, and prices are rising for everything.” — Steve Dougherty, Tomah resident
“There is really nothing we can do about it, but I don’t know why the President hasn’t tried to do anything about it. I can afford to pay for gas, but I own a business, and I have employees that wonder how they will get to work. Food prices are going up, too. Everything is going up.” —Joan Burch, Tomah resident
K.J. Lang of Lee Newspapers contributed to this report.
All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.