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Man on a Segway
March 2, 2009 | 25 Comments | Joshua Gans
It has been over 7 years since the Segway was launched. It was supposed to revolutionise transportation and, at the time, by 2009, we would have expected to see them everywhere. But alas they are virtually nowhere. I have seen a few. A Chicago parking spector, promotional mobile advertising at the Australian Open, but not really in their intended use.
Today, as I was stuck in traffic while driving to work, I saw on in the wild. On it was a man dressed in a suit heading towards the bicycle path in Melbourne that weaves its way along the Yarra into the CBD. He might otherwise have been in a car, adding to the congestion I was in. Instead, he was out there, in plain sight, on a sidewalk that had no pedestrians. And I thought of his ‘sacrifice’ as he sped by me, going faster than our cars. Why aren’t we all on these things? This is something that should have worked out.
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25 Responses to “Man on a Segway”
I have a vague recollection of reading that Segways were illegal in Victoria – trapped in the legislation that banned mini-motorbikes
what has a segway got that a bike doesn’t, apart from a stupid name?
I have actually seen a couple of them in the wild around Canberra. Both hooning around the lake and also in the ANU campus. A discussion on a local blog suggests they’re illegal to ride on the streets or footpath, but it’s only in the last month or two I’ve seen them in the wild, so maybe something had changed.
The Segway is too heavy, and too fast, to share normal footpaths with pedestrians, or to use in normal indoor environments. It’s not safe to ride on the road. It costs about ten times as much as a commuter bicycle – or five times as much as an electric bicycle, which avoids the “I’m not fit enough” or the “I’ll get too sweaty” issues. It’s too heavy to carry, and takes virtually as much room to park as a bicycle. And if the battery dies, you’re stuck, unlike an electric bicycle which usually has pedals.
As I understand it, you’re obliged to wear a helmet while riding a Segway, so that’s not a saving grace. Nor does it provide significantly improved weather protection.
It seems to me that the bicycle and its companion the e-bike have got the segment of the transportation market you describe pretty much cornered. I think the big opportunity is for motorized transport small enough that you can pick up and carry at your ultimate destination – something like a motorized skateboard. However, batteries are still too heavy to make this practical.
Robert is correct about the drawbacks of the Segway, but he fails to also note the fact that riding one makes you look like a gigantic tool.
Josh, the Segway was based on a gigantic lobbying gamble that failed.
The maker thought it could overturn legislation that barred dangerous vehicles from the footpath. Its first move on launching was to organise rides for state legislators throughout America.
But America has lobby groups for everything, including walking, footpaths, the elderly and blind people. All those groups saw the danger posed by the Segway and campaigned against it. This led to some cities, such as San Francisco, specifically banning the Segway.
In marketing terms, the Segway was targeted at the “I’m special” crowd, like the Macintosh. But it was killed by democracy.
Another (arguably more relevant) comparison is to walking, True, walking is slower and perhaps more energetic, the gap between the Segway and walking in utility, legality and cost is even wider than it is for cycling, notably in that you can cross all terrains.
” riding one makes you look like a gigantic tool.” – LOL!
The skateboard idea is on the right track – maybe a motorised version of the ‘heel skates’ (in black leather of course) that kids wear would work better. No ‘tall poppy’ effect, and no issues with parking. Throw in some hybrid decelerate+charge technology to increase battery life and you’ve got roller shoes o’ the future!
Incidentally, I bought my wife a second hand ebike to make the short ride to work. Even though it looks like a scooter, she still gets stares and “comments” from pedestrians and motorists. The segway needs to blend in much more before it’ll be accepted.
Alternatively, get Steve Jobs to bundle it with the next-gen iphone and macbook air
I’d also add the rather common phenomenon of “stairs” to the list of things the Segway can’t cope with.
Obviously in certain circumstances when stuck in traffic a segway will be faster, but I would have thought that a segway was a very imperfect substitute for a car. I think that the problem for the segway is that its closest substitute is walking (or maybe bicycling).
For this reason it holds little public or private attraction.
People do so little walking nowdays that a $5000 substitute for walking would appeal to a very small market (particularly since those that do a lot of walking, probably like the fitness benefit).
It has no public appeal since it replaces something public agencies are trying to encourage – physical activity. For this reason public agencies have no reason to encourage it. For example the law in Victoria requires all motorised vehicles using the roads or footpaths to be licensed (http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Motorcycles/RoadRulesRegulations/) but there are exception for electric bikes and motorised wheelchairs. For these there is a public policy purpose. there is none for the segway.
So it is an invention vainly looking for a market. M Gans proposes it as an alternative to being struck in traffic. but there is already an alternative to that, one for which the footpath was invented – walking.
We’ve all seen this of course…
http://www.hulu.com/watch/13861/onion-news-network-do-you-remember-life-before-the-segway
Wow, I had no idea that people were so passionate against something. I must admit that I know of no one who walks 10km to work (so I don’t think that is the alternative) and also those in suits can’t bike unless they have access to showers. So I saw that man as substituting for a car. And so what if he spent $5,000 to do it? How can you actually be against that?
Sorry, wrong link:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/in_the_know_do_you_remember_life
Joshua I’m sure it’s fair to suggest anyone here is passionately against segways, but I think pretty much every reason why they’re not more common has been given.
I tend to agree that they seem to offer nothing over bicycles. What I don’t get is why electric bicycles (or even retrofitting existing bikes) are so uncommon – I’ve asked about it at a few local bike stores with no luck. I’d love a little motor to help me up those long 20deg slopes with 20kg worth of child behind me…
The aversion to cycling based on the need to shower seems a curiously Australian phenomenon. If people didn’t feel the need to ride at Olympian speeds they could very easily manage a 10km ride in typical work gear (other than perhaps leaving the tie and jacket at work). Lycra-clad road warriors have created an odd perception of the extent of exertion necessary to propel a bicycle. Head to any similarly infrastructured city in Europe/Nth America and you will see loads of cyclists in suits, even in summer.
Back on topic, the Segway has always struck me as a prime example of an invention that was addressing no real market need. The long list of arguments here would seem to support this.
Joshua, I don’t know whether you read Slashdot back in 2001 or so, but there was an enormous amount of hype around about what, with various technology luminaries – notably Steve Jobs – making fairly outlandish claims about how it would revolutionize cities, without revealing anything about what the device actually was.
As soon as it was released, it became abundantly clear that the Segway, technically clever as it was, was a solution in search of a problem, and way overpriced to boot.
So, yes, amongst a certain set of people (me included), there is a certain knowing antipathy to the Segway.
If you’re really going 10 kilometres, a bicycle (electric or otherwise) is a much cheaper and faster option.
Electric bicycles also suffer from regulatory problems. Australian regulations restrict them to 200 watts maximum power and (theoretically) a 25 km/h speed limit, which is a uniquely Australian restriction. The things are churned out by the squillions in China in 250, 350 and 500 watt varieties; the 500 and arguably the 350 watt versions are overpowered for bicycles, but the 250 watt versions are fine. The 25 km/h speed limit is ridiculously slow, as well. 30 km/h would be much more appropriate; heck, on a road bike I can easily sustain over that.
That said, you can get them, and I think they’ll become more popular over time. See, for instance <A HREF=”http://www.electricbicycle.com.au/models.html”>this company</A>.
In the UK they are basically illegal – you can’t ride them on the road OR the pavement (=sidewalk). More importantly… it rains! People hate the idea of getting wet, even though you actually only GET wet a handful of times a year. (I cycle to work 2-3 times a week, and really don’t get wet very often – maybe 10 times a year. The other 2-3 days I am working from home, by the way – not driving!!) Anyways… the thing I was more surprised to see fail soooo miserably was the BMW \covered\ motorbike. I thought it would answer so many problems, and yer, it looks gawky, but so do a lot of things, so… maybe it was too expensive???
Joshua, you might be interested in this brief doco about the guy who invented it; includes info some of his other work. Pretty fascinating guy.
Sorry, here’s the link: http://www.sundancechannel.com/iconoclasts#/episode/210240875
Josh I think you should post about segways more often.
Yes, who knew it would be the discussion point of the year. I wonder what I’ll see on the way to work tomorrow.
I think they’re cool. A bloke at work rides one to work. Locks it up in the bike shed. Tempted to ask if I can take it for a spin.
I prefer riding my bike, but I can see their usefulness.
The only place Segway’s appear to have caught on is in the tourism business, being used as convenient vehicles for city tours.
Still, when I get my first Segway, Im using it every day to commute.
Josh, Segway-man is not simply replacing a car ride. He is competing for space on footpaths and thus imposing costs on the wider community.
While this might not be an issue in the outer suburbs, it is in the inner city, where Segways tended to be ridden. On almost all footpaths, even one Segway demands a significant part of the footpath, due its width, speed, threat and the imposing height of the rider.
Two side by side would be a disaster on most city streets, and even on bike paths.
The Segway company has repeatedly declined offers to have the device registered as a road vehicle, like bicycles, but instead tried to have them recognised as footpath vehicles. They have been comprehensively rebuffed in that strategy.
And yes, Dean is a brilliant engineer and the Segway is a beautiful device. But it’s not suited to city footpaths.
So a Segway is too high, too threatening and takes up too much space?
Should have been a shoe-in to appeal to the SUV-driver market then…