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Wednesday, May 25, 2005

ON THE MOVE-Stand-up scooters zip into Tallahassee market

From the Tallahassee Democrat

A cloudless spring afternoon, the perfect kind for cruising.

You grab your keys and jog outside, get the motor started. Rubber bites pavement, and off you go.

Doing a breezy 10 mph, as far as the sidewalk can take you.

That sound like fun?

Segway hopes so.

The company that launched the two-wheeled electric scooter in 2001 - without much success - is taking another run at the mainstream.

This time, Segway's sexing up its machines with new colors and all-terrain features and opening local dealerships across the country, including one of the newest in Tallahassee.

Could work.

The scooters are catching on with some people, from average commuters to Navy SEALs.

"I haven't seen that many 'in the wild' yet," said Segway rider Rodney Atherton. "I'm hoping to have a lot more around here."

Company struggles with sales

Randy Martin's a professional floor man.

That's the specialty of his two Tallahassee businesses - cleaning floors, covering them, making them slip-resistant.

About the only thing worth riding in his line of work is a floor buffer. And only on really boring nights.

But a friend mentioned last year that Segway was looking for dealers.

The company had been selling scooters mostly over the Internet, through sites such as Amazon.com, or at scattered dealerships and Brookstone stores.

It hadn't worked.

In 2003, a recall for a minor glitch revealed that only 6,000 had been sold, according to The Associated Press.

Segway needed more local shops.

"People aren't going to buy something they can't get on and try," Martin said.

The competition in Tallahassee would be almost nonexistent. There aren't any Segway dealerships in Florida north of Tampa.

And the machines themselves looked like a blast to ride, especially to a guy who's favorite magazines are Popular Mechanics and Popular Science.

He opened Segway of Tallahassee on May 1.

"New technology has always fascinated me," Martin said. "I've been watching the Segway evolve, from its inception to its birth to the point where it is now.

"It was something different, something a little more exciting. And it's been nothing but fun since I started."

The trick: getting people on them

Ever seen a Segway Human Transporter?

They're fairly simple, at least from the outside.

They run off a rechargeable battery and start with a key. The rider stands on the platform and holds the handlebars. Lean forward and the scooter goes, lean backward, it rolls back. Turn the handles to go left or right.

The real complexity is inside.

Segways are self-balancing, so the rider doesn't have to sway and shift to stay upright. Gyroscopes and a computer system in the platform control weight distribution as it moves.

Grass, dirt, asphalt, smooth or reasonably bumpy, no problem. Top speed's about 10-12 mph.

Atherton, a 49-year-old computer programmer who works for the state Legislature, rides his to work nearly every day.

It's only a few miles from his house to the Claude Pepper Building, where he works. Atherton "glides" - that's what Segway owners call it - right into the building and right up to his cubicle.

"Downtown, I'm just another person on foot," he said.

The machine recharges while he works, then carries him on errands during lunch, sometimes as far away as Governor's Square mall. Then back home at the end of the day.

"It's like I'm riding on a magic carpet or something," he said. "You just think a certain direction and there you go."

The trick has been getting people onto them.

By Segway's count, more than 40 states have passed laws since 2001 allowing the use of electric scooters on streets and sidewalks. Florida is one of them.

But at the same time, critics from Boston to Detroit have complained that they're dangerous and take up too much space on sidewalks.

Several major cities, including San Francisco, have banned them because of concerns over potential pedestrian/scooter crashes.

And then there's the consumer reluctance. Understandable, given Segways cost nearly $5,000.

That's all part of why Segway launched the new line last month.

The company added new colors - solar yellow and sport red - and two new models, the "off road" XT and the golf-club-carrying GT.

Segway also came up with a fix for one of the biggest complaints about the scooter.

The batteries on the original models were good for only about 12 miles before they had to be recharged. The new lithium-ion batteries can carry a rider up to 24 miles, according to Segway.

Their improvements are getting some attention.

'Huge with police forces'

Martin had been open less than a week when he got the call from K2 Urbancorp.

Company head Dave Wamsley said he'd heard Kamen speak at a conference in Washington D.C. and was impressed by his ideas on transportation.

When K2's condominium project, 417 Park Ave., goes up downtown, it will include Segway-friendly design and machines for the use of residents, Wamsley said.

The cops started calling, too.

Officers from the Tallahassee, Florida State University and Florida A&M University police departments wanted demonstrations of the scooters, Martin said.

"This is huge with police forces," he said.

The attraction: During large events, officers can cover more ground more quickly than on foot and stand a head taller than most of the crowd, so they can see further.

The FSU Police Department already has requested money to buy four of them, according to Lt. Randy Chandler.

He likes that they're easy to use and give off a friendly vibe that invites people to stop and talk, he said.

Even if they are a little on the dorky side.

"They look a little space agey, but that's something you have to get over, I guess," he said.

But the most exotic call Martin's gotten so far?

From the Navy, which trains SEALs in bomb disposal at Eglin Air Force Base.

The military wants something to carry technicians when they're loaded down with bomb suits.

If all goes well, six of the all-terrain Segways will soon be on their way to Iraq.

THE RULES FOR SEGWAYS IN FLORIDA

They can be ridden on streets with a speed limit of 25 mph or under, on a marked bicycle path, on any street where bicycles are permitted and on a sidewalk, as long as you give pedestrians the right of way and honk when passing.

You don't need a driver's license to operate a Segway, and don't have to register or insure the scooter.

Riders younger than 16 have to wear helmets.