[sustran] Re: Segway is environmental or sustainable?

[Todd Alexander Litman]

There has been considerable debate about the appropriate role of Segways in 
a sustainable transportation system. The concern is not just that some 
people will shift from walking or cycling to motorized travel, but that 
Segways will create conflicts on sidewalks and paths, reducing total 
walking and cycling.

However, Segways are just one of many Personal Mobility Devices (PMD), 
which also include skates and skateboards, scooters, handcarts and bicycles 
(and let's not forget joggers, pedestrians with dogs on leash, and 
equestrians). I prefer to generalize this issue, and develop guidelines and 
best practices for managing nonmotorized facilities to minimize conflicts 
between various types of users. This means determining where and when 
various PMDs should be allowed or prohibited on sidewalks and paths, and 
establishing rules that they must follow, including maximum speed and their 
requirements for yielding to other facility users. For discussion of this 
issue see "Managing Personal Mobility Devices On Nonmotorized Facilities" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/man_nmt_fac.pdf).

Please let me know if you have comments about this paper.


Best wishes,
-Todd Litman


At 07:29 AM 6/8/2005 +0700, Carlos F. Pardo wrote:

>I just found this article in an environmental magazine and I was shocked. 
>It says that Segways are one of the most environmentally friendly modes of 
>transportation, and it even states the following:
>
>   There are a lot of statistics that show that if people are forced to 
> walk more than a fourth of a mile to connect to transit, then they will 
> just get in their cars, says Carla Vallone, communications manager for 
> Segway LLC. The Segway HT is another option for people who may not want 
> to ride their bikes.
>
>I think segways are one of the worst ideas that have ever been developed 
>in the past few years. They encourage lazy people to become lazier by 
>giving them an expensive apparatus that will only make them occupy more 
>space on sidewalks and stop using their bodies as a main source of 
>mobility. It s just sad to see these opinions walk through into the 
>environmental discourse without being noticed. Maybe in a few more years 
>many people will be promoting the use of segways instead of bicycles or 
>walking!
>
>The entire article is available in the following address: 
>http://www.emagazine.com/view/?2488


Sincerely,
Todd Litman, Director
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
Email: litman at vtpi.org
Website: http://www.vtpi.org