New Community Study for Segway
By Kim Forrest
WASHINGTON — The public delivery date for Segway scooters is still a month away, but residents of Celebration, Fla., will be getting a sneak peak at the “human transporters” or HTs, as they are known.
Starting Saturday, a community study will monitor the effects of the Segways on the town. The yearlong study will “observe how and when people use their Segway HTs to commute to work, improve their mobility and how riders interact with their community and neighbors,” the company said in a statement.
Carla Vallone, communications director for Manchester, NH-based Segway, said the company was excited about the new program. “Celebration is a very unique opportunity in the sense that this is the first community in the world that’s going to have a condensed population of Segway HTs,” she said.
Segways have been growing in popularity, and are even available for purchase on Amazon.com. Vallone said that they have consistently ranked among Amazon’s top 200 sellers in its electronics store.
According to Keri Baugh, communications manager for Celebration Town Hall, 75 to 80 of about 6,000 Celebration residents have signed up for the study. They must receive special training before getting their Segway i167 models.
Participants will complete written questionnaires and verbal interviews on their use of the Segways. When the study is complete, they will receive a partial refund on Segway’s $4,950 price tag.
Located in Osceola County, Celebration was developed by the Walt Disney Co. In its statement, Segway said that it chose Celebration because of the “town’s commitment to community development, its infrastructure of sidewalk and trails and their enthusiasm for zero-emission transportation alternatives.”
Baugh agreed that Celebration is a perfect choice for the study and that residents are showing a great deal of interest in it. “There’s quite a buzz from what we have seen,” she said. Baugh also noted that most residents will be using the battery-powered Segways in lieu of driving. “[Celebration] is a town that’s very focused on health and walking,” she said, and added that
some residents have told her that the Segways “will not replace their activity.”
Passengers on Disney Cruise Line have also been treated to a preview of the Segway, with the scooters available for rides on two of Disney’s cruise ships and on its Bahamian island, Castaway Cay. Angela Bliss, a spokeswoman for Disney Cruise Line, said that feedback has been very positive. “There’s been great, great guest feedback,” she said. “Some people are curious to try it, others just want their pictures taken on it.”
The ships’ captains and officers use them to get around the ships more efficiently Bliss said, adding that “it’s a great practical option for our officers.”.
Locally, Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) recently ended its five-month pilot program in which 10 Segways were leased and used by 15 meter readers throughout the state, in both rural and residential areas. The program ran from June to October.
“It did not hinder [meter readers] from doing their jobs,” Martin Murray, spokesman for PSNH, said, but noted that there were quite a few “curiosity delays,” in which local people would want to find out more about the new contraptions. Meter readers were soon given postcards to provide inquiring onlookers, with information about Segways printed on them.
Murray said that the trial was a very positive experience and that the utility has bought five Segways. The rented Segways, he said, “are in mid-winter storage at the moment but are expected to be back on the road in spring.”
Kim Carl, a meter reader for PSNH who works out of the Keene office, enjoyed her experience with the Segways, especially on hot days when she could get a “nice breeze” from cruising along, but said she didn’t like riding it for eight hours straight a day. She added that she enjoys walking.
Carl said that many residents were curious about the Segways. “[There were] a lot of people, a lot of questions,” she said, but meeting and talking to people was a positive experience. She said it was common for residents to take pictures and ask for rides.
Despite the fact that 33 states have approved legislation making Segways an option for use, the devices were recently banned on the sidewalks of San Francisco under a California law that allows cities to decide for themselves whether to allow the scooters.
Critics have said that the Segways are a safety hazard to sidewalk pedestrians. The HTs weigh 65 pounds and can travel up to three times as fast as an average pedestrian.
Ellen Vanderslice, president of America Walks, a Portland, Ore.-based national coalition of pedestrian advocates, said that she is “worried” about Segways on sidewalks, especially if they come into contact with pedestrians with sensory problems. However, she said, “it would be great to have more city streets devoted to lower-speed traffic” in lieu of cars. Segways would be a good replacement for cars, she said. But for now, “because we do have cars on streets, we share sidewalks, and it becomes an issue for pedestrians.”
Segway’s Vallone responded to the criticism by noting the many safety features of the Segway and its built-in system that reacts to body movements.
“Segway HTs were designed to be safe on the sidewalk from the beginning,” she said. “Of course, it’s very important that the rider uses utmost courtesy, and that they’re cautious and aware of their surroundings.”
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
