A Springfield Police Department report listing all the scooter thefts in 2008 shows 50 this year. The thefts are concentrated in an area bounded by National Avenue on the east, Grand Street on the south, Campbell Avenue on the west and Chestnut Expressway on the north. It's an area where many Missouri State University students live in off-campus housing. Only one of the thefts was at MSU itself.

Dakota Bennett isn't taking any chances with his wheels. They're the only set he's got.

"I'm not the richest kid, so riding a bike helps out a lot," said Bennett.

Bennett is part of what an MSU official describes as a "tremendous increase" in the number of people coming to campus on two wheels. Some students grumble about the change that's blamed on high gas prices

"There's not really a place to park anymore," said Hannah Berg.

If the trend continues, MSU will add more bike racks and add more spots for motorcycles and scooters. One hundred thirty-eight of those are registered on campus, as of last week, and just 108 spots were available to park them.

"A lot of people are going to keep on buying them. I talked to some of the guys at the shop and they sell them left and right," said student Carlynn Forst.

The university sees the developing space crunch and it's already looking at freeing up more space for the scooter trend.

"What I think we will need to do is to have more racks available for scooters to be on the perimeter of campus," said Ken McClure, acting vice president for information and administrative services.

Tthe racks would allow those with two wheels and a motor to lock up just like those who use leg power to move around campus.

"It's going to be something we see more of," said Forst.

The university reminds students that bikes can travel onto campus but scooters need to be parked at the edge of campus.