Pulse: How We Spend: Trends: Suddenly Scooter
Who: Veronica Stickelman, 26, Pennsport. Occupation: Customer operations manager, Comcast. Her ride: 2006 Honda Metropolitan. Rationale: Safety. “I had a couple of close calls on my bike. I figured I needed to be faster and louder.” Gripes: Stickelman hopes for a better system for scooter parking. She’s successfully contested nearly a dozen tickets.
Who: Matthew Henry Luther, 35, and Amber Day Luther, 27, Old City/NoLibs. Occupations: Senior multimedia producer; architect. Their rides: 2009 Honda Ruckus, 2009 Honda Metropolitan. Rationale: Accessibility. You’ll find Amber squeezing into small spaces to take photos. Trendsetters: Five more scooters have appeared in their apartment building.
Who: Taylor Fletcher, 31, Bensalem. Occupation: Business owner. His ride: 2004 Suzuki Burgman. Rationale: “My maxi – scooter is the same as a motorcycle, but with more trunk space and better gas mileage.” Nice guy: Fletcher founded the Philly – based Wild Hogs Scooter Club, which does fund – raising rides for local charities.
Who: Kathy Nell, 58, Roxborough. Occupation: Reading tutor and retired Philadelphia public – school teacher. Her ride: 2006 Vespa LX150. Rationale: “I already have my motorcycle license, so my Vespa seemed like just another form of biking.” No fear: Nell felt victorious after managing to get a kayak paddle home aboard her scooter.
