By Emma Bouthillette
Staff Writer
Coffee in hand, you grab the keys, go to the car, start the engine and drive to work: the morning routine. But with regular unleaded gas averaging more than $4 a gallon, it is becoming an expensive routine. To save money at the pump, many people are turning to alternative ways of commuting.
Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition and the University of New England are hosting the eighth annual Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days event.
Coalition Project Director Bethany Fortier said more than 320 people signed up for the program currently underway ending Sept. 18. The event’s purpose is to add physical activity by walking 100 miles in 100 days and some plan to reach the goal by walking to work.
WestPoint Home in Biddeford has 24 employees participating in the program. Quality Control Technician Arlene Roy said she has participated for many years and this year she is using her miles to walk to work.
“The program gives me good incentive and is a challenge. I started to walk out of necessity to save money on gas. I live in Saco and it is two miles to work. It is a good way to save on gas and rack up the miles,” Roy said.
If two feet can’t get you there fast enough, perhaps two wheels is a solution.
Cumberland resident Don Hawkins, 59, bikes 17 miles each way to work at Precision Millwork in South Portland on when the weather is good. He started cycling when his son gave him a bike seven years ago and told him to get off the couch.
 “When I started, I’d see one cyclist every other week. This year especially, I run across another cyclist every day. There is another guy who bikes from Cumberland to South Portland and sometimes we end up biking together,” Hawkins said.
Jamie Wright, who owns Gorham Bike and Ski in Portland and Saco, is using the rising gas prices as part of his advertising campaign. A sign in front of his Saco store reads “Save on gas. Improve your health. Ride a bike.”
Wright has seen a 20 percent growth in business for people who want to commute by bike, or for running errands. To be outfitted with a bike costs roughly the same as filling up an SUV’s gas tank four times, he said..
“Anybody that lives within 10 miles, that is a 20-mile commute total. It is a doable thing. I commute to work from downtown Gorham to 1440 Congress Street, Portland. By car it takes me 20 to 25 minutes and it takes me 30 minutes by bike,” Wright said.
Wright said it is important for cyclists to follow rules of the road as they commute. Regular motor vehicle laws apply to cyclists as well, this includes stopping at traffic signals and road signs and biking on the right side of the road.
For the less athletically inclined, perhaps a scooter is a better two-wheel alternative.
Toby Reynolds, sales manager of Reynolds Motorsports in Buxton, said basic model scooters start at $1,899 and high-end models can sell for up to $5,000. Manufactures are claiming scooters get up to 100 miles per gallon.
“For a 49 [cubic centimeter] model, 49cc indicates the displacement of the engine, you don’t need a special license, just a valid Maine drivers license,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds didn’t have exact numbers available for comparison to last year’s sales, but said sales have risen. During the spring, Reynolds Motorsports sold at least 50 scooters, 20 of which were sold during the second week of June.
Public transportation has seen a significant increase in use during the past year as well.
The Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach Transit runs a shuttle bus between the three municipalities, as well as an intercity bus through Scarborough to the Maine Mall and Portland and the Zoom Bus for commuters traveling between the Biddeford and Saco area to downtown Portland.
“Overall [usage] has gone up 52 percent, and that is on all our buses, as compared from April 2007 to April 2008. On our shuttle bus went up 50 percent. We’re talking 2,239 more people riding the local bus,” said Ed Clifford, executive director of the Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach Transit.
“The intercity bus has gone up 16 percent, which isn’t a lot, but what is interesting is there had been a decline from 2006 to 2007. The Zoom bus has seen a 93 percent increase – that is 1,660 more passengers,” Clifford said.
Fares one-way for the shuttle bus are $1.25 and $3 for the Zoom. The Zoom Bus also offers a commuter card for $58 a month.
Lucy Lawlor of Saco began commuting on the Zoom June 9. She said after calculating the amount of gas used and tolls between Saco and Monument Square in downtown Portland, she is saving money by taking the Zoom to and from work.
“I leave at the same time I always have for work, but the only drawback is I have to wait half an hour after work for the bus. I read or go for a walk while I’m waiting. It is worth it,” Lawlor said.
“I also don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot in the garage. Although it is hard to find a spot in the park and ride too,” Lawlor said.
Maine Turnpike Authority’s Assistant of Public Affairs, Bruce Pelletier, said the authority recently received phone calls and emails complaining about the lack of parking the Saco Park and Ride lot. Pelletier said the lot has been so full at times the Zoom bus has had difficulty entering.
“We just finished up a report on 2007. The report showed lot usage at 60 percent, but I’m sure it has gone up this summer,” Pelletier said.
The report also stated the Scarborough lot on Payne Road is used to full capacity. Pelletier said it is too early in the year to have definite figures to support saying there is an increase, but he said the lots are filling up.
Go Maine, a statewide commuter services program, added 1,500 members in the past eight weeks, Program Manager Carey Kish said.
“These lots serve many different purposes, but ride sharing is here to stay,” Kish said.
Investing in a fuel-efficient vehicle is another alternative to save gas.
Prime Motor Group owner Ira Rosenberg said sales of hybrid cars and other small, fuel-efficient cars have probably tripled in the past year. He said when hybrids were first introduced, the cars sold slowly, and now there is a six to eight month wait to buy a hybrid car.
“The only people who bought hybrid cars a few years back were people more environmentally concerned. That’s not the reason today. It may be in the back of their mind, but in the forefront of their mind is gas prices,” Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg said the average price of hybrids he sells is between $20,000 and $22,000. He said the vehicles get up to 30 and 40 miles per gallon.
As people opt for more full efficient vehicles, consequentially, people are turning away from large trucks and other gas-guzzlers.
General Motor’s Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner delivered a speech June 3 at the beginning of General Motor’s annual meeting, describing weak truck sales as a structural change in the domestic car market.
“These higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and rapidly, significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix. We at GM don’t think this is a spike or a temporary shift. We believe that it is, by and large, permanent,” Wagoner said during his speech.
Wagoner said sales of Chevrolet Malibus have increased 125 percent, a next-generation Chevrolet compact car program has been approved and improvements to the current Chevrolet Aveo will increase fuel efficiency. Wagoner also addressed General Motors Hummer brand.
“At this point, we are considering all options for the Hummer Brand, everything from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand,” Wagoner said.
Hummer of South Portland sales manager Mark Cookison said he has heard from Wagoner in regard to the status of the Hummer brand.
“General Motors has hired Citigroup to do a strategic review of the brand to see whether or not it is feasible to continue under the General Motors umbrella. Mahindra and Tata of India have been rumored to be interested in the brand,” Cookison said.