[sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Can Segway do the trick?

[Eric Britton (Paris, France)]

[http://www.segway.com/puma]

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We wish engineers, inventors and anyone else who chooses to get
involved, all the good luck in the world when it comes to trying to
bring on line new and more emissions/energy effective vehicles and
power sources.



Indeed, we are convinced that the shift from old to new mobility will
in large part be mediated by technology. However we have to be a bit
careful with this because at the same time it is important to bear in
mind the time window which we believe is the proper focus of policy and
practice, and of course of technology – i.e., the two to four years
directly ahead.



This is significant and in many discussions of various ways of
achieving more sustainable transportation arrangements, we often hear
much about the advantages of new vehicle, motive, and fuel
technologies, as if they were going to be able to do the job that needs
to be done. This of course is impossible, unfortunately, when we bear
in mind the realities of the penetration path of these technologies,
which are measured in many years and indeed decades by a time they
begin to have a significant global impact on greenhouse gas reductions,
energy savings, etc..



It is tempting of course for us to look at proposals for this
particular class of technologies, all the more so since they often are
well supported by institutions and interests behind them. You do not
have to look very far to find many such proposals, often wrapped up in
very appealing packages and arguments. But we really need to think hard
and keep them in perspective.



Here is one example that has been brought to our attention today by
our "eyes on the street" colleague in Ottawa, Chris Bradshaw, in which
he makes the point: ”It seems Segway's announcement today,
http://www.segway.com/puma/, is right up your alley.”



Well, if we check out that reference here is what the Segway people
have to say about their product:



“Think of it as a digital solution to an analog problem. Segway’s
P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility) prototype represents
the shift that’s needed for the future of transportation. It values
less over more; taking up less space, using less energy, produced more
efficiently with fewer parts, creating fewer emissions during
production and operation, all while offering more enjoyment,
productivity, and connectivity”



Hmm. I invite you to have a look at the Segway product and proposal as
outlined here, and to share with us your reflections and reactions to
it, perhaps both in general but more specifically within the time and
strategic framework that World Streets is working with. Personally I do
not see it.



True enough, if Segway and other innovators with similar softer
technology packages are able to bring to market vehicles which people
will buy and use instead of less efficient and more wasteful
technologies, this would be useful at that specific micro level. But
from the global and time perspective that we are destined to work with,
it just doesn't add up. Sorry.



To end a more positive note, I would with your permission like to cite
the statement made under the heading “Full speed ahead with new
technology” in the welcoming note posted here.



“New mobility is at its core heavily driven by the aggressive
application of state of the art logistics, communications and
information technology across the full spectrum of service types. The
transport system of the future is above all an interactive information
system, with the wheels and the feet at the end of this chain. These
are the seven leagues boots of new mobility.”



Thus it is our view that technology is no less than enormously
important in the party moved to sustainability, but the way in which is
going to make its difference will be when it is brought in to provide
the information and communications infrastructure needed to render our
new mobility systems effective and competitive. We will never get there
without them



Your comments are as always very welcome on this.



Eric Britton

Editor, World Streets




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Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/08/2009
07:38:00 AM
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