0.cached.png
By Newsweek Editors
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
When the Segway--the self-balancing, electric-powered "human transporter"--debuted in late 2002, it was breathlessly expected to revolutionize personal travel. That's yet to happen. (Likely the last time you saw one on your morning commute was... never.) But while you don't see throngs of commuters Segwaying to work, flocks of gliding tourists may become a common sight. Guided Segway tours have become big business for both Segway distributors and traditional tour companies. In the last few months, Segway tour groups, which charge $50 to $85 per person, have announced new tours in Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Ariz.; Steyr, Austria, and Lille, France. Segway dealer Bill Johnson, who started offering tours in Chicago, Phoenix and Kansas City, Mo., to supplement sales, says tours now account for half of his company's revenues.
With ecotravel all the rage, Segways are a hip and environment-friendly alternative to the tour bus. They go up to 12.5mph, which beats walking. And they're pretty darned fun. "We could run these tours in empty warehouses and still have a line out the door," says City Segway Tours owner David Mebane, who added the devices to his Paris bike-tour company in 2003 and now offers Segway tours in five cities around the world. "The interest is huge, over the top, out of control." Mebane's expanding into San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, Berlin and Barcelona within the next three months. Segways may remain a novelty item, but they're picking up speed.
Read More on News
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines