English comedian Eddie Izzard once characterized Italians as all driving around on motor scooters, hair flying in the wind, waving at passers-by.

It would appear that USC students are increasingly subscribing to this method of transportation.

While naysayers might dismiss scooters as not masculine, too European or otherwise silly-looking, the fact is, with rising gas prices, a lack of parking spaces and an ever-expanding campus, scooters might be the way of the future in student transportation.

Some new four-stroke scooters cost less than $2,000 and get three or four times the gas mileage of a mid-size sedan, sometimes as much as 100 miles per gallon.

It’s becoming more and more common to see scooters parked at the bicycle racks outside Russell House or West Quad, and the fact that they can fit in a parking space makes them practical for travel across campus.

If you live off campus and drive to school, you might have to park at Senate or Pendleton Street garages and walk from there to your class. Scooter drivers don’t have that problem.

If you take safety into consideration, like wearing a helmet and staying off the highway, a scooter might be a cheaper, cleaner, easier alternative to driving if you’re looking to make a short commute easier.

The Daily Gamecock is the student newspaper at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.