Segway: Thinking Outside the Box - June 17th, 2008
Although technically the Segway human transporter isn’t a car, it is a method of personal transportation that has always fascinated me. A couple of days ago I saw one on the streets of Fort Worth for the first time. A well-dressed man who had evidently been to the post office went zipping across four lanes of traffic on a sporty black Segway. I assume he was headed home, since he was moving in the general direction of a group of condos. I watched him in my rear-view mirror with more than a little wistfulness. He looked pretty doggone cool.
A buddy and I have spent a considerable amount of time recently talking about the rapid changes underway in our societal perception of personal transportation. We are both of the opinion that in the face of both high gas prices and environmental concerns, people will have a car and some kind of “neighborhood” vehicle. He’s an avid cyclist and I’m back in the saddle after 30 years, albeit still in the practicing stage. (Read, “Not yet ready and/or brave enough to run errands.) We’ve also been talking about Vespas, but frankly, that’s a bit of a pain since you have to get a motorcycle license here in the fair state of Texas. I endured driver’s ed once and I’m not all that thrilled about doing it again.
A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed rising sales of the once-ridiculed Segway. The article opens with the story of a guy who commutes 12 miles each way to work on his “self-balancing vehicle.” There are some definite draws to the high-tech scooters, like the fact that they can run for 25 miles on one charge and they plug in to any standard outlet. The top speed is only 12.5 mph, however, and the price tag hovers around $5,000. Still, the more sold, the more that price point will be driven down. I’m not ready to count the Segway out as one of the faces of things to come. We have to start thinking outside the transportation box, and this is about as outside it as you can get. (Come on, you know you want one too.)
Posted on June 17th, 2008 by Shorty
Filed under: lifestyle |
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