Scooters saving the economy

The economy may be tumbling, but sales of motorcycles and scooters in Canada are still rising, according to the Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council.

The MMIC reports that year-to-date sales to October 2008 have climbed eight per cent.

Sales of motorcycles and scooters were up almost 13 per cent at the peak of the spring and summer season, the MMIC says, and scooter sales were up 22 per cent for the year at the end of June.

"This year's high fuel costs coupled with the expense of fuelling larger gas guzzling vehicles forced people to start looking for alternate modes of transportation," the MMIC says. "The solution for a lot of them was and still is the purchase of a motorcycle or scooter because they are an efficient, low cost transportation option that gets you where you need to go."

Apparently, more people are using motorcycles and scooters for commuting.