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Just Another Segway or New Personal Transport?

Just Another Segway or New Personal Transport?

Segways are gaining traction, but already have some stiff competition

Tourism operators seem to love Segways - so much so that we will soon need a term to describe a pack of tourists gawking at swans on the river as they dodge local commuters. But tourism operators have to get a special licence in most states of Australia to take segways on to public areas. 

Queensland police are big segway fans as well, claiming they are far more efficient, using them to patrol public areas like Southbank in Brisbane and the streets of Noosa on Queenland's Sunshine Coast. 

So what's the story for you and me who might want to ride a Segway to work for a greener commute? Using segways from personal transport means getting state laws changed to allow Segways onto bike paths and it is proving to be a little difficult.

Queensland and ACT are leading the way as the first places to make personal segway travel legal. Segways are not allowed on roads, but are legal on footpaths and bike paths in Queensland as long as you are over 16 years  (unsupervised, although you can be 12 - 15 years old if supervised) and don't go any faster than 12kph. Despite all the nay sayers, there don't seem to have been many major collisions or or a plethora of mowed down pedestrians as a result of the segway laws, so perhaps other states will follow suit. Mind you, with the rather hefty price tag of around $10,000, it is unlikely that we'll be over run by segways anytime soon.

For my money, if you are more agile, self balancing electric hover & skate boards like this one are far cheaper and less complicated if you are a bit more agile. Plus you can park them under your desk when you get to work. 

Image: Shutterstock 

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