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High-tech scooter As the inventor would tell you, it's not a scooter.
could boost isle
tourist industry
Hawaii's Legislature is still
working out details about how to
regulate the Segway TransporterBy B.J. Reyes
Associated PressBut it's not exactly a car, motorcycle, bike, moped, skateboard or other typical form of transportation.
It's the Segway Human Transporter, and just what it is exactly is being worked out in the Hawaii Legislature.
"The product is a very unique, remarkable form of transportation," said Matt Dailida, a lobbyist for Manchester, N.H.-based Segway LLC, which produces and markets the devices.
For the uninitiated, the Segway is a two-wheeled mobile device that looks like a cross between a hand lawnmower and a "Razor" scooter. The battery-operated transport can travel up to 12 mph and uses gyroscopes to detect shifts in a rider's weight to move in that direction.
After months of speculation, Segway was unveiled in December by inventor Dean Kamen, who has hopes that the device will revolutionize transportation and ultimately replace cars in crowded urban landscapes.
Not so fast.
Hawaii and most other states are wrestling with how to regulate the devices, let alone how to use them.
Dailida said only six states have passed measures defining the Segway and how it should be regulated, while similar proposals are alive elsewhere.
In Hawaii, both the House and Senate have passed measures defining the "electric personal assistive mobility device."
The measures would amend the state traffic code to allow Segways on sidewalks and bike paths. Operators would have to be at least 16 years old, with exceptions for people with disabilities.
House lawmakers also want speed limits for the Segway capped at 8 mph.
Groups opposed to the legislation include the Honolulu Police Department and the state Department of Transportation, who want more time to study the devices.
"The department will be researching all of these new mobility devices to determine how hey should be classified and ultimately, how they should be used," Transportation Director Brian Minaai told a House committee last week.
Dailida plans to bring a Segway to the Capitol on Wednesday for a demonstration. The company already has held similar demonstrations in 22 other states.
Opposition "is understandable because it's an entirely new device," Dailida said. "But I think that after the police chief gets to experience the Segway his thoughts and ideas may change."
Sen. Cal Kawamoto, who introduced the measure in the Senate, said the Segway would most benefit people with disabilities, but could also be used for more leisurely pursuits.
"They could take them to the shopping centers or malls and they can go around there," he said.
Although a 65-pound, $3,000 consumer model isn't yet available, some 80-pound, $8,000 commercial models of the Segway are being used on a trial basis.
Initial buyers included the U.S. Postal Service and the City of Atlanta, which plans to have visitor's bureau employees patrolling tourist districts on Segways.
Hawaii's tourism and hospitality industry could reap similar benefits, said Tobe Cohen, Segway's director of marketing.
"Tourism and the leisure segments are among our key commercial segments," Cohen said. "Part of that is looking at the opportunities at large-scale resorts, and I think Hawaii has some of the most classic examples of resorts that are large campuses."
He declined to say what businesses or agencies in Hawaii had inquired about Segway.
In addition to helping resort staff get around quickly, the Segway could ultimately be used by visitors, too.
"Rather than getting a big golf cart," Cohen said, "the Segway is designed to go anywhere where people walk."
Dailida also is confident that the Segway will quickly gain acceptance.
"Every day we are finding new ways of using Segway as a productivity tool, helping people over areas quicker," he said. "I would expect that as time goes on the interest will continue to build in Hawaii."