So YOU Think You Have a Modded Segway?

[Max Lobovsky]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

The unfortunate thing, as if it's not entirely obvious, is that this Segway is a toy to show off. It's not being used at all for its intended purpose, nor is its owner doing anything to encourage the redesign of cities or the protection of the environment.

The picture doesn't make this clear, but the Segway rides on a trailer attached to an enormous, yellow Hummer. Whoever owns it drives it into the city each day behind their enormous gas guzzling monstrosity and, as far as I've seen, doesn't bother to actually ride the Segway anywhere.

Oh well.

I didn't really know people thought of the Segway as such an environmentally friendly invention. Though I don't have precise figures, the premium that a hybrid car has over a similar performing regular car is almost definitely less than the price of a Segway. Considering Segways can not replace cars for a large amount of people, a car and it makes much more sense to just buy an environmentally friendly car. Additionally, if hybrids become as widespread as Segways would need to be to have an effect on the environment, hybrids would be able to be even more helpful to the environment by making selling power back to the power grid useful. This could significantly increase efficiency of power plants by not requiring them to have the capacity for greater power output than needed.

Of course hybrids are only a temporary solution, oil will run out regardless. Fuel cells or something else must be brought to a usable level of efficiency within the next 25 years or so. The point is that a Segway isn't going to realistically replace cars in a country like the US.