If the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, then the journey for America to reduce its dependency on gasoline begins by individuals reducing their dependence on the resource. And Chickamauga city manager John Culpepper has done just that.

Culpepper recently purchased a scooter, which gets about 80 miles per gallon, to replace his Jeep as his primary means of daily transportation.

“We are all going to have to look at ways to cut back on fuel,” Culpepper said.

According to Culpepper, he can fill the tank with only three gallons of gas and can ride an estimated 240 miles from that one tank of gas.

“I live six miles south of town,” Culpepper said. “If you don’t live far from work, this is very practical.”

Culpepper said he really began considering such an alternative when he and his wife were on their 25th wedding anniversary in the Florida Keys in March.

“We went to the Florida Keys and these were all over the place down there,” Culpepper said. “And electric cars were all over the place. Of course, people were renting them. I decided to research them and tried to come up with what I thought would fit my needs.”

Culpepper said his research led him to exploring different sites on the Internet.

“This particular model is a Roketa Touring Edition,” Culpepper said. “I ordered it directly over the Internet and they shipped to me. It took about a month before I got it.”

Culpepper said the scooter cost him about $1,300 new.

“$1,297 is what I gave but now they are $1,397,” Culpepper said. “I bought it during the off-season. They had it on special until April 30th.”

Culpepper spoke of the practicality of his purchase.

“When you really stop and think about it, it’s made in China and they have been making these for years. It’s all you ever see people riding over there. So I believe it will be reliable,” Culpepper said. “I really bought it just to run errands on and to ride back and forth to work.”

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Roketa Touring Scooter

Engine size: 150 cubic centimeters

Miles per gallon: 80

Tank capacity: 3 gallons

Weight capacity: 500 lbs. (Designed for two passengers with storage availability.)

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Culpepper admitted that long trips might not be as comfortably on a scooter.

“I’m not going to get on it and run off to Gatlinburg or something like that,” Culpepper said. “But if I am here and want to run up to the park or if I want to go to the store, I can just scoot up there. But, I am not sure how respected they would be by other drivers on the highway.”

Culpepper did say, however, that he believed the scooter could handle such a trip.

“It is designed for two people. The capacity is up to 500 pounds. It registers around 80 miles per hour. I have had it up to 60. That is as fast as I have gotten it. It has a 150-cubic-centimeter engine. You see a lot of people running around on these smaller ones that only have a 50-cubic-centimeter engine,” Culpepper said.

Culpepper also said that weather conditions such as rain could make travel on such a vehicle a bit difficult but not impossible.

Culpepper said he believes that area residents are simply going to have to begin looking at transportation that is more energy efficient.

“I simply don’t feel like we have a short-term solution to the gasoline crisis,” Culpepper said. “Who knows what the price is going to be next year? Everybody is having to change their lifestyles. When you used to be able to jump into the car and say to the kids, ‘let’s run down to LaFayette or somewhere and get a hamburger,’ is behind us. Today, my wife and I are looking for ways on reducing how much we are on the road by doing four or five errands in one trip.”

Culpepper said he had seen someone else in Chickamauga riding a scooter to work.

“There is a girl that works down at the bank that’s got one,” Culpepper said. “If you don’t have a long commute you can ride one of these and zip around town. They really makes finding a parking space easy.”