Well before gas prices soared in 2008, Angela Bisig bought a scooter.

“When you get on one, you really feel in the world,” said Bisig, a Jefferson County District Court Judge who purchased a Vespa in 2002.

“People stopping (at red lights) will ask me about the bike at stoplights. When you’re in a car, you’re kind of anonymous. (On a scooter), people wave at you, people talk to you. I think it just makes the world friendlier.”

Scooters also are kind to the environment, said Christopher Amelung, who purchased his two-wheeled vehicle in May.

“I filled up the gas canister for $6, which would keep the scooter running for well over a month,” Amelung said. “It was nice to have something that was efficient. It didn’t waste anything. It wasn’t pumping out exhaust, and it wasn’t pumping cash out of my wallet.”

Fads fade. Thus far, scooter-mania has proven to be anything but. In fact, the vehicles are becoming commonplace, slowly but surely.

The scooter-owner market grew by 48 percent from 2007 to 2008, and experts predict a 58 percent growth in the market over the next two years.

“We got into this business after the $4 gas,” said Chris Lebrasseur, of Highland Motor Sport. “We decided that it was not just a trend. … We decided it was a lifestyle that we would see continue in the U.S. Now, only time will tell.”

Bisig purchased her scooter well before it was a popular, trendy choice and hasn’t regretted it. Mostly.

It didn’t take long for Her Honor to find that she was able to maneuver downtown easily.

“If you’re going to go anywhere on Bardstown Road or Frankfort Avenue, it’s so fun to take because of the parking issues,” Bisig said.

“You can just go forever on one. It’s good for urban living. … You can handle it. You can put it up on its kickstand. You don’t feel like you’re on something you can’t control.”

What you do feel, though, at least sometimes, she added, is vulnerable.

One lucky day, Bisig drove her Volvo to work instead of her Vespa. That morning, someone plowed into her car. Had she been on her scooter instead of in her car, the aftermath could have been catastrophic.

“It took me months to ride the Vespa to work again,” admitted Bisig, who wears a helmet and only rides locally, though her 150cc scooter would suffice on the highway. “When you’re out there on that scooter, you just feel more exposed. I try to look at people in intersections and make sure they see me before I go through.”

Matthew Landan, owner of Derby City Espresso, purchased his Genuine Buddy, a 50cc scooter, last April because of his “hatred of cars and their glaring inefficiency.”

“Why use 2,000 pounds of steel to move my 140 pounds?” he said. “Plus they’re fun, cheap … (and) girls like it.”

Scooters are here to stay, added Landan.

“They will only grow in popularity,” he said. “The Romanization of (the) U.S.A. continues.”