A new way to scoot

NEWPORT - A motor scooter could become a common sight in the neighborhoods served by Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative.

For the past few months, the cooperative's field service representatives have been trying out a scooter for meter reading in several residential areas, zooming from house to house with relative ease and doing so without guzzling as much gasoline.

The "meter" scooter is still in the test drive phase, but so far the field service representatives have found it has saved gas and increased efficiency.

"We're letting some of the other guys get a feel for it, see how they like it. So far it is looking positive," said CCEC Communications Director Lisa Taylor-Galizia.

The scooter was part of the Harkers Island Electric Cooperative fleet when the island utility and the CCEC merged on Jan. 1.

Field Service Representative Barry McGarva was the first to try the scooter to read meters on Harkers Island and has since tackled the task with the scooter three times, CCEC said.

"You can go all day and use only a little amount of gas," he said.

McGarva estimated he used a quarter and a half of tank of gas during six hours of meter reading, and the scooter's tank holds just over one gallon. He also said he has shaved about three hours off the time it normally took to read the meters on the Harkers Island route using a pick-up truck.

It helps that residents there have become used to the scooter.

"The members in Harkers Island are accustomed to it, so they tell me to drive on up in the yard," McGarva said.

While the CCEC is still exploring the safety and feasibility of using the scooter on a wider scale, Taylor-Galizia said they want to do everything they can to cut costs and operational expenses.

"Any time we can reduce our operational costs it helps," she said.

The scooter is seen as a potentially more efficient way of accessing densely populated residential areas.

CCEC veteran David Harper tried out the scooter in several Emerald Isle neighborhoods, where residents and visitors spend a lot of time walking, running, biking and riding golf carts along subdivision roadways.

He sees both safety and efficiency in the scooter's use.

"It's a lot safer than constantly parking and backing a truck," Harper said. "On the scooter, you can pull into a driveway, read the meter, get back on the scooter and leave without have to back out onto the road."

CCEC said the field service representatives wear a bicycle helmet and reflective orange vest while using the scooter.

Contact Carteret County reporter Jannette Pippin at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 252-808-2275. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.