Julie Olsen's latest business venture began to emerge about this time last year, when she decided she wanted to buy an eGo electric scooter to cut down on the use of her car—and to have a little fun along the way.

The trouble was, she couldn't find a dealer here. The closest one was on the West Side. That's when the Spokane Valley businesswoman decided to become a dealer of eGo scooters herself. She contacted the maker, Nashville, Tenn.-based eGo Vehicles LLC, and launched a company here called EcoTech Services LLC.

By early June, Olsen had sold her first scooter.

Olsen, who also owns Office Tech Inc., a dealer of Xerox Corp. office equipment here, says she was drawn to the scooters by their simplicity.

"No gas, no oil, and very little in terms of operating costs," she says of the devices, which look a bit like a bicycle, but without the pedals.

Olsen housed the new venture at her office-equipment dealership, at 6310 E. Sprague, where EcoTech now occupies a 400-square-foot showroom and shares some of Office Tech's 12 employees at the 9,000-square-foot store.

The scooter business expanded its product lines last month, when it became an authorized dealer for Bellingham, Wash.-based Bravo Electric Vehicles Inc., which makes a more powerful electric scooter that looks more like a gas-powered cousin.

eGo scooters, sometimes referred to as electric vehicles or cycles instead of scooters, range in price from about $1,600 to $2,200, and can reach speeds of up to 24 miles per hour, with a range of 20 to 25 miles on a single battery charge, she says. The Bravo scooters—she plans to carry the retro-styled EVT-168 and the more modern and aerodynamic looking EVT-4000e—cost about $2,700. They can travel at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and have a range of about 35 miles on a charge, Olsen says.

Jeff Lechtanski, director of marketing communications for Bravo, says, "Electric scooters give you the chance to make your commute carbon free. It's a change of mindset. You can drive by the gas station and stop paying attention to the seasonal fluctuations of the price of gas."

Both Lechtanski and the Washington State Patrol say a motorcycle endorsement on one's driver's license isn't required for riders of scooters that travel 30 mph or less and have an engine size that is equivalent to 50 cubic centimeters or less.

Olsen touts the scooters as being fun for short trips, such as commuting to work, running errands, doing business around town, and for nearby recreation.

They're also in relatively high demand, she says.

"People come find us. We don't advertise," Olsen says. "People will beat the door down," she asserts, describing the customer exuberance she's seen for the product.

A reporter made calls to a half-dozen Spokane area motorcycle and bicycle dealers, but they neither sold electric scooters nor could name another dealer in town that they thought might.

Olsen's first shipment of eight scooters last June sold out immediately, and she was left with no inventory for July and August of last summer. By the time more scooters arrived in her showroom, fall, when scooter sales slow, had arrived, she says.

Olsen says she doesn't anticipate having an inventory shortage this year, and she also now can special order scooters for customers, if they don't like the styles or colors she has in stock.

It takes about a week for a customer's special order to arrive at her Valley location, she says.

Her goal is to sell 100 scooters this year.

"We're happy to just kind of go slow, expanding the business and bringing in additional product," Olsen says.

"I'm not doing this for the money," she asserts. "I'm doing it more as a customer service. And I'm interested in the technology. I think these products should be more available to the people of Spokane."

Olsen says she would like to add an additional brand of scooter or electric vehicle. She is looking at becoming a dealer for Vectrix Corp., which she says makes some bigger and faster electric vehicles that don't exactly fit into either the scooter or motorcycle category.

She envisions EcoTech eventually reaching a point where it will need its own storefront.

"That would be our desire to get to that point," she says. "When we get there would be another question."

Olsen says the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil has been one of the factors that has motivated her to become an electric scooter dealer.

She describes herself as environmentally conscious, and adds that she rides the bus to work most days from Browne's Addition.

The scooters, she says, are energy efficient. Recharging the battery system of an eGo scooter costs less than 10 cents per charge, which is the equivalent of more than 850 miles per gallon if compared with gasoline, eGo's Web site says. There are no emissions.

Lechtanski says, "Electric scooters offer a great way to get around town, while reducing your carbon footprint."

eGo test ride

On a test ride of one of Olsen's eGo scooters, it became clear to this reporter that anyone who can ride a bicycle is more than capable of operating one of the scooters.

When you sit down on the suspension "saddle," with a motorcycle helmet strapped firmly to your head, you get the idea that something more fun is about to happen than buckling into the family minivan.

To drive away, you have two options: turning the key to either "Go Fast" mode, or "Go Far" mode.

The faster mode allows you to reach speeds of up to 24 mph, while the slower mode limits your speed to 18 mph, pacing the scooter to go farther. The eGo is fueled by its 24-volt battery system, and the travel distance is limited by your speed, your weight, and the steepness of the terrain you're tackling, she says.

The battery can be charged using any standard household outlet, and can be 80 percent charged in two hours, or fully charged in six hours. The eGo Web site says the batteries can "carry (a rider) up to 10,000 miles before they'll need to be replaced."

Before taking off on the new scooter for the first time, Olsen recommends turning the key to the "Go Far" mode, because the scooter tends to have a surprising amount of get-up-and-go, at the first twist of the throttle.

An eGo scooter brochure reads: "It carries loads of cargo and climbs hills like Lance Armstrong."

At the slightest twist of the right hand grip (the throttle), my scooter took off swiftly in silence—the only sound being the wind swishing around my helmet.

It's a comfortable and relaxing ride. The center of balance is low, making it easy to control the 130-pound machine. The whole thing seemed to be a snap to pick up.

Although the parking lot at EcoTech and Office Tech is spacious enough to get a solid feel for the scooter, it's tempting to go blasting out onto Dyer Road, which runs alongside her businesses, then test the scooter's speed by pulling out into traffic on Sprague Avenue.

Though I knew the scooter wouldn't have the speed needed to race down Sprague with traffic, it felt fast enough to have fun trying.

Not surprisingly, Olsen says she's already getting requests from customers wanting electric scooters that will go both faster and farther.

"It's a fun product," she says. "People are happy to purchase it, and it's personally rewarding to experience that with them."

Plus, she adds, "We need to look for alternative technology." These scooters "make a good alternative for a lot of people."