KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As people look to take their foot off the gas, many of them are turning to a different kind of pedal.
"I'm parking my car, I'm selling my car and I've moved to the city, so I don't need my car," Christina Decker, owner of Midwest Cyclery, said. "I can't afford gas."
Decker lists just a few reasons why people are turning in their four wheels for two, giving her business an extra boost.
"It is ramping up quickly and very fast, I mean it is just really hitting hard," Decker said.
As gas prices rise, Midwest Cyclery has been hit with customers looking to switch to a bike to get around.
"There's just these combinations of what they're doing in general and then the gas prices that are bringing them in," Decker said.
Decker told KSHB 41 her shop has seen an increase in customers who are specifically looking for a bike to help out their budget and not just for leisure.
In stock, Decker said she has a variety of bikes including electric ones. Those will cost anywhere from $2,000 and more, but charging them will only cost you cents.
Some people are opting for electric cars to avoid pain at the pump.
At a charging station near Loose Park in Kansas City, Missouri, the price to charge was $0.20 a kilowatt hour.
The Department of Energy estimates the average electric vehicle has a 66-kilowatt hour battery that can go about 200 miles per charge.
For a full charge, the cost is around $13 at that charging station.
One issue with these alternative options is supply. Due to supply chain issues, inventory is difficult to keep up with.
"It is still hard to get bikes, it is still hard to get parts," Decker said.
The Mid-America Regional Council has a map showing all of the trails in the Kansas City area that can be used to find a safe path to and from wherever you need to go.
