SEGWAY 101
The Segway has been marketed as both a PT and an HT in the 20+ years since its launch. These mean Personal Transporter and Human Transporter, designations that describe what they do without revealing much how they do it. They are designed to carry one person, who stands in a forward-facing position on a platform between two large wheels and holds onto a set of handlebars attached to a vertical support which reaches, more or less, the height of their navel.
If you were to make a mock-up of a Segway with a pair of wheels and a broom handle, it would fall over as soon as you stepped onto it. The real things are self-balancing, relying on some fancy tech to stay upright. Tilt sensors detect inclination one way or the other and gyroscopic sensors measure the rate of rotation. Moving forward, turning and stopping is achieved by the rider shifting their weight in the desired direction of acceleration.
THE POWER SOURCE
We need to know what’s powering these movements if we’re going to decide if Segways are environmentally friendly. The marketing will tell you that, when in operation, Segways are a completely zero-emission mode of transport. That’s because they are electric, with a motor mounted in each wheel that’s powered by batteries. Though those batteries have to be charged, the production of the electricity needed to fully charge a Segway releases a fraction of the greenhouse gas that running a car for an equivalent amount of time would.
A VEHICLE FOR THE FUTURE?
Segway experiences in the UK tend to take place in parks, the grounds of privately owned properties and similar locations. Given that they don’t give off emissions, this is a good fit. In addition, Segways, which are able to handle off-roading, are lightweight and low-profile, meaning that they do minimal damage to terrain. Their literal footprints, like their carbon footprints, are small.
But this isn’t the reason for their overrepresentation in areas that aren’t regulated by the highway code. Segways, alongside other personal transporters such as electric scooters and electric unicycles, are not permitted on public roads by UK law.
Though we can imagine a world where Segways play a role in an urban transport system that’s built around green principles, allowing commuters to leave their cars in the garage and whizz from place to place without polluting the air or causing traffic jams, legislation is currently standing in the way. Until that changes, riding a Segway is an environmentally friendly way to spend some free time, but owning one isn’t going to alleviate any of the stresses that transport is currently placing on the environment.
THE CONCLUSION
Segways and similar transport devices are clever pieces of kit that look futuristic and can be fun to ride, while releasing fewer emissions and taking up less space than traditional vehicles. The stumbling block, at present, is the law. If you think Segways are the answer, why not start a petition or lobby your local MP?
A word of warning - environmental claims made by manufacturers often omit details of the production process. Manufacturing high-tech devices requires a high energy input as well as the use of materials that might not come from sustainable sources. If regulations change and we can start to use personal transportation on the roads, we should look at vehicle sharing, buying second hand products and “right to repair” projects before we go for a shiny new gadget. These are truly eco-friendly practices.
