WICHITA, Kansas, Mar 4, 2008 -- It is a problem we're all dealing with -- high gas prices hitting our pocket books. But a local business is offering a solution that will have you wheeling around town.

Lloyd Beynon started a business with a 'what if?'

"What if gas went to four dollars, five dollars a gallon?" said Beynon.

Our big cars would become big liabilities, so Beynon left a regular job to build on that premise and opened a business.

He started by researching inexpensive forms of transportation.

"I thought that scooters were a niche that has not been explored much or promoted much and of course ending up in Delano here, it seemed to be a perfect fit."

"The scooter business is seasonal as you might expect, but Lloyd is counting on brisk sales, primarily because of gas prices. Also, he has a product line you may not have heard of but he believes is a very strong line. Revitalization of downtown is creating a need for urban transportation and also, it's just 'cool' to tool around on a scooter.

You've probably never heard of the manufacturer of the scooters he carries. They have built motorcycles and cars for Honda. They currently build the Hyundai Tuscon SUV. It's a Taiwanese company called SYM.

"They've got the experience," said Beynon. "They just don't have the name recognition at this point."

Lloyd expects to sell 20 to 30 scooters a month this spring and summer. One selling point: Not all models require a driver's license and they're very easy to ride.

"They're automatic transmission, which means no shifting. The RPM is what drives the engaging mechanism, if you will -- to put it in layman's terms. It's twist and go. You turn the throttle and you go."

Start up money came from Lloyd's retirement savings. One major unanticipated expense was the cost of the required insurance.

The business has rolled off to a great start but not without the typical holdups. He has learned that location and visibility are critical.

"I would like to have more window space. Driving by a 30 mph, it's kind of tough to look and see."

The low-powered scooter's cost about $1,700 and the 250cc machine's are about $4,500. They get from 50 to 70 miles-per-gallon. At $50 to $60 fill up for your car, you do the math. We may see more people scooting around Kansas.