Segway

Experience

On a recent trip to visit family in Naples, Florida, we had the opportunity to take a Segway tour. I jumped at the chance having never tried one before.

The Segway, or Segway PT (personal transporter) to use their official title, was invented by Dean Kamen. It is a two-wheeled vehicle that balances itself to stay upright using a hi-tech system including dual computers, five gyroscopes and two tilt sensors located under the user’s feet which detect whether the rider is leaning forward or back, resulting in acceleration or breaking respectively. Motors power the wheels and the Segway can turn 360 degrees on the spot as one motor can drive a wheel in one direction while the other does the opposite.

The unconventional handlebar steers the Segway when a user leans it to one side. This caused some initial difficulty among some of my family members. The idea of leaning a bar to the side, rather than turning it, seemed unnatural and was difficult to become accustomed to.

Me on a Segway PT in Naples, Florida

However, the overall simplicity of the machine makes it a joy to ride. The only draw back I found was that your feet feel slightly odd when you step off.

We rode the simplest version of the Segway, but there are in fact other models including an off-roader and one to use on the golf course. Whether they would be allowed on a golf course is another question.

Economics

Segways are slowly becoming more popular but they are certainly not taking off that fast. Between 2001 and 2007 they only sold 30,000 units and their original annual sales goal was 40,000 units! I expect the lack of enthusiasm from the general public is mainly due their cost. The model we rode (see above photo) is sold for $5300 – certainly not a cheap toy.

I spoke to the woman who ran our tour who said they had sold 5 Segways to the local sheriff’s department (in fact this is used as an example in a PDF available from the Segway website), and I have seen police use the transporters elsewhere, for example in airports. The woman said the sheriffs department found them ideal for rounding up the homeless because they are almost silent. The added bonus of course is that they do not pollute. According to the Segway online PR section, more than 400 police and security agencies use Segways around the USA, so it would seem they have found a good market there.

Another suggestion I’ve heard is that Segway’s are somewhat geeky. I can see the reasoning behind this: they are highly dependant on technology and some “geeky” firms have adopted them on their campuses such as Google (though I hate to label Googlers as geeks). Segways don’t exactly look cool: they may be fun to ride, but their chunky design is not particularly appealing.

In the UK, the use of Segways is also restricted as they are classified as powered vehicles and subject to Road Traffic Law. This means they cannot be used on private property though the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are in favour of allowing Segways in cycle lanes. This restriction certainly hinders growth in the UK market. There are however few restrictions in the USA.

Conclusion

While the Segway is extremely fun to ride it is probably not the most practical mode of transport. It may part crowds, but it would not be easy to navigate through large numbers of people. Certainly having one around would be fun if you can afford it, otherwise I’m not sure there’s much point. Are you ever really going to use it to get somewhere? What will you do with it when you get there? Perhaps in more rural areas the Segway makes a nice green solution for getting around, but in the city I would think otherwise.

From a business perspective it seems unlikely the Segway will ever become a huge success. The main hindrance is cost: $5300 is the same price as a cheap car and this limits the market for the Segway. This time of economic crises certainly can’t help things either. My prediction is we’ll see the Segway remain in some specialised areas: police forces and security, perhaps in warehouses as well. Apart from that it is unlikely to ever become a household item.