Zippin' Around: Segways & Scooters...

Remember when inventor Dean Kamen rolled out his Segway scooter in 2001 with a fanfare of publicity and ideas that this could eventually be the thing in personal transportation?  Perhaps the scooter market has more traction when it is the two-wheel kind, like the Vespas, at the moment.  When Segways run between $5,000 - $6,000, Vespa Flys can be had for under $2,000.  I have continued thinking about this after writing about sexy scooters earlier.

Sometimes it takes a confluence of factors to create the right timing for product ideas.  High gas prices, an aging population and a desire for a smaller transportation footprint and...seeing them used as rentals... might just be that mixture of ideas & usage that lead to purchases.

Vespa-type scooters are legal on most roads and Segways have been banned from many sidewalks and roads and their promotional and sales information even advises buyers/users to know the state-by-state scooter/motor vehicle regulations.

Disney in California just started offering Segway tours.  Renting Segways might be the way usage will increase as it is less expensive and offers people a chance to try them out. Perhaps a toe-hold will be gained by tour operators since even with financing tools to increase sales, they aren't becoming more publicly visible as individually owned scooters. 

In May it was announced that the Koreans had developed their own Segway-like scooter, the Hubo-way, which promises to be much less expensive.

Unlike scooters that are considered allowable on sidewalks as medical devices, like those at left ($589 Zip'r at scooter.com), Segways can't get that status which has inhibited its use on sidewalks.

Our cities have more sprawl and less sidewalky, people-friendly public places.  You don't see a lot of elders out ambling about with canes as you might in the English countryside villages, for example.  We're a nation ripe for scootin'. Perhaps these scooters will all gain more traction as we think about smaller transportation footprints. 

Segways on golfcourses? It started being used on courses in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I bet you'll see them more and more after their use last fall at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida's #1 golf resort course.  People on vacation are more open to trying new things and the hospitality industry has stories of how staff is promoting their use.  Golf clubs are using them as perks and enticements, and they are being promoted as ways to speed up the play. The Gold Creek Club (Chris Dare, the pro, demostrates one at right) in Dawsonville, Georgia, promotes its use: "Unlike power carts each golfer goes directly to their own golf ball, speeding up play. The all electric unit costs around $2 to charge and is significantly less expensive than gas or traditional electric carts for the golf course to field."

I would bet that riding on soft grass rather than harsh concrete would get more tryers and guyers which might lead to more buyers... Still, my bet is on the rental market to make the inroads.

Young guys use them for urban play and off-roading...the next market?  More on the flip...

photo credit: Dean Kamen, by Jared C. Benedict, released under GNU license

Even just a year ago Washington Post carried an article: "Segway's corporate challenge, which (not to put too fine a point on it) is to figure out what people might actually want to do with this incredible breakthrough in transportation technology..."

Off-roading and creative uses have just waiting to happen.  It doesn't surprise me that it was out West where innovation ideas might take hold. A New Mexico Segway dealer promotes the use in and out of urban areas (the vehicle form of Parkour) and you should note that it is young guys that are the users here and it is the latest idea of how to adapt the technology for personal use.

My son might want one after watching this!

For me, after seeing a man on a scooter/cycle get hit by a car I think I'm willing to wait for that sexy scooter.

Comments

[anthony]

I like the attitude of the people in large cities like NYC, Paris, Rome, London, they walk. Walking 18 holes is fun. The streets are bad enough, don't tread on my sidewalks.

[Electric Scooters]

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