San Francisco bans Segways...

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
...yes, Frisco...



<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28682.html"; target="_blank">Last Monday (Dec 16) San Francisco civic leaders voted 8-2 to bar the use of Segways on footways and cyclepaths. </a>



Ha. Honestly, I never really see anyone getting on the segway bandwagon (except Postal Workers)...now it's banned in one of the most open, liberal, eclectic cities in the country. Oh well... <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
«134

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 65
    How disapointing, I was really looking forward to seeing some yuppie asshole trying to ride a Segway down one on San Fransisco obscenely steep hills and crashing into a homeless guy taking a dump on the sidewalk during Macworld
  • Reply 2 of 65
    Good one Stag. You crack me up! <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> Aren't those things going for $5k? I can think of a lot better use for that kind of money....
  • Reply 3 of 65
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I said from day one (that it was unveiled) that this is such a Brookstone/Sharper Image type of a thing...NOBODY is going to buy it for that kind of money.



    And, as pointed out above, the ONE city you think this thing would go over in just banned it.







    Try again, pal...



    And that is a funny post, Stag.
  • Reply 4 of 65
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Guy calls it like it is. Computers, yuppie assholes, guys taking dumps on the sidewalk, you name it.







    [ 12-24-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
  • Reply 5 of 65
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Why would San Francisco be first on the bandwagon? After all, San Francisco is full of artsy, anti-technology types. It's the big, open cities that have room for Segways anyway. San Francisco is geographically tiny. It's got under 1 million people and it still feels crowded.



    Also, The Segway's been a pretty hot pre-order at Amazon. I don't think people will realize just how effin' cool the Segway is until they get on one.



    [ 12-24-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
  • Reply 6 of 65
    [quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

    <strong>Why would San Francisco be first on the bandwagon? After all, San Francisco is full of artsy, anti-technology types. It's the big, open cities that have room for Segways anyway. San Francisco is geographically tiny. It's got under 1 million people and it still feels crowded.



    Also, The Segway's been a pretty hot pre-order at Amazon. I don't think people will realize just how effin' cool the Segway is until they get on one.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    The columnist makes a good point though about how LAZY AND FAT this country has become. This device makes all them rotund, fanny-wallet wearing, baby-boomers drool...Why need to walk/ride a bike when this baby-boomer carriage can take you with ease to the corner store a block away...



    Hey, like I said, mailmen...that's only what this is good for...
  • Reply 7 of 65
    lazy lazy lazy. we're all gonna die from heartattacks before we're 40 and this segway POS is gonna contribute to our already lazy ways. what's wrong w/ walking?!?!?!

    geez, this is amazing...

    yes, it is good technology, but this thing is barely faster than walking and any calories you'd be burning in a short walk stays with you because you want to be even lazier. want to save some time?? get a bike!

    amazing...
  • Reply 8 of 65
    [quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

    <strong> I don't think people will realize just how effin' cool the Segway is until they get on one.



    </strong><hr></blockquote>





    useless in a crowded street...
  • Reply 9 of 65
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    [quote]Originally posted by _ alliance _:

    <strong>



    useless in a crowded street...</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Crowded with ... cars?



    Remember, loopy Dean Kamen envisions Segway-like personal transporters displacing larger forms of transportation and making a niche for itself. He also envisions modern urban planning to account for such an upheaval of conventional transportation habits.



    And the people who are fat aren't walking already. They're using cars. Things like Segway HTs aren't going to make skinny people fat. I don't plan on getting fat. If anything it'll make fat people get out more since they won't need to use their cars to drive down 2 blocks to whatever tupperware party or social engagement they might have scheduled.



    I don't see people humming around indoor malls on Segways or anything. To me it doesn't replace wandering from shop to shop. It's an additional option for directional transportation for the gray area between driving and walking.



    Let's say you live a mile from a supermarket. Are you going to walk 10 minutes to get there, then walk back with 4 bags of groceries? Are you going to drive there? No, take the Segway HT. Save some gas, save some time and sweat.
  • Reply 10 of 65
    g4dudeg4dude Posts: 1,016member
    I'm so glad that San Francisco did this. The segway is a joke. I've seen them in person and had the chance to take one for a quick spin; it's USELESS. What a waste of money. Now for something like hotel/resort security or transportation within a warehouse or something like that, it's a different story. But for use on the streets of a city, they are dumb.
  • Reply 11 of 65
    [quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

    <strong>



    Crowded with ... cars?

    </strong><hr></blockquote>





    oops, i meant sidewalks. no, a segway would be useless on a sidewalk, especially in already crowded cities...such as...san francisco??

    pssh, those things take up too much room, and arent as manueverable through a crowd as someone walking, so in a busy walkway (which is how all downtowns are) it is just about useless. and i dont know about where you live, but here (in the suburbs of a major city--houston) there is no room on the side of a road for this damn thing to go. there is about a two foot barrier between the roads and the ditch which is enough for you to walk or even bike safely. but in a segway, i wouldnt feel comfortable trying to keep from getting knicked by a passing car. it just seems...bulky and cumbersome...

    it is nothing more than a novelty. a cool TOY that normal people could never afford and even if they did would never be practical enough to use regularly.
  • Reply 12 of 65
    oh, and to ever say that this is in any way revolutionary (hello mr. jobs) is a joke... <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
  • Reply 13 of 65
    I find this part of the article particularly amusuing:

    [quote]

    "Fat, rosy cheeks. Ample alabaster bellies. Arms that flap, legs that waddle, bodies by the million shaking like bowls of jelly." That's his description of average Americans.

    <hr></blockquote>



    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 14 of 65
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    I imagine you guys would have said the same thing about the first Benz and other automobiles at the turn of the last century. You guys have no idea what the Segway HT is trying to accomplish.



    Or airplanes. Man, using large planks to generate lift for transportation through air? Nothing but toys for the affluent! Oh man, and the helicopter...what a stupid toy.



    Frankly, I'll bet most of its critics just can't get past its looks.



    G4Dude, so where did you get a demo of the Segway HT?



    [ 12-25-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
  • Reply 15 of 65
    I'm with you on this one, Eugene, So far the negative has yet to offer a compelling reason against its use.
  • Reply 16 of 65
    ok, let's see here...

    -it doesn't go very fast (walking is old fashioned, yes, but it still works)

    -it's awkward (sp?)

    -it's expensive

    -where are you sposed to put it once you get to your destination?

    -will you be able to "park" it somewhere?? it's not like parking a bike--hell, $100 bikes get stolen easily. what do you have to lock something that costs 5 THOUSAND? does it have an ignition like a car? that shouldn't stop anyone, since it's not THAT big that it can't be moved despite not being able to turn on.

    -it's cumbersome--not easy to get through crowds

    -it's relatively small, and easy target for a passing SUV that doesn't see it (happens all the time in texas). it's not "quick" enough to "jump" out of the way the way a human body's reaction can.



    until this thing addresses these points (and more im forgetting for now), you will never see these used by ordinary citizens. most of my exercize in a day is walking back and forth across campus (3-5 miles a day), so i personally have no desire to be lazier than i already do since i don't work out like i used to. but for lazy rich people, it's a good toy. it still has no practicality, though. maybe some day it will. but it will have be just the technology, and not this particular device that moves on to something better.
  • Reply 17 of 65
    [quote]Originally posted by _ alliance _:

    <strong>ok, let's see here...

    -it doesn't go very fast (walking is old fashioned, yes, but it still works)

    -it's awkward (sp?)

    -it's expensive

    -where are you sposed to put it once you get to your destination?

    -will you be able to "park" it somewhere?? it's not like parking a bike--hell, $100 bikes get stolen easily. what do you have to lock something that costs 5 THOUSAND? does it have an ignition like a car? that shouldn't stop anyone, since it's not THAT big that it can't be moved despite not being able to turn on.

    -it's cumbersome--not easy to get through crowds

    -it's relatively small, and easy target for a passing SUV that doesn't see it (happens all the time in texas). it's not "quick" enough to "jump" out of the way the way a human body's reaction can.



    until this thing addresses these points (and more im forgetting for now), you will never see these used by ordinary citizens. most of my exercize in a day is walking back and forth across campus (3-5 miles a day), so i personally have no desire to be lazier than i already do since i don't work out like i used to. but for lazy rich people, it's a good toy. it still has no practicality, though. maybe some day it will. but it will have be just the technology, and not this particular device that moves on to something better.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    How is the "thing" supposed to address those points beyond its price? They're minor drawbacks, but people have to buy these first before you see those changes. You're not accounting for the changes in infrastructure that this machine should bring. Why not? And you're still hanging on that idea that it will replace walking instead of replacing automobiles, which the latter is really one of its aims to a certain extent.



    I don't know... It seems like the negative is really scraping the surface to denounce this machine- and all of their arguments depend upon the limitations placed by the pre-segway infrastructure.
  • Reply 18 of 65
    hmm...so it takes the place of automobiles...

    right...

    a "scooter" substitute for an ENCLOSED vehicle that goes more than 5 mph? right...

    maybe for short trips within a mile...

    here in texas if you wanna get anywhere you have to go multiple miles. do you realize how inconvenient that would be for normal people just trying to go to walmart or mall?? our nearest walmart here at my parents house in houston is about 8 miles away and our nearest mall is about 15 miles...

    the only thing it's good for is going to the nearest supermarket or something, which isnt worth $5k. also take into account that it is not enclosed, which is a huge deal in this part of the country where it rains all the damn time. no, it might work in some situations, but for the overall scheme of things this cannot take the place of a car in everyday events...

    this country is way too spread out for something like this. it has no range and no speed. within the cities, themselves, possibly...but again, will there be somewhere to put them once u get to yer destination?? will parking garages become segway storage?? it's not like a skateboard that you can hide under yer desk at school...this is big hunk of machinery that needs somewhere to go...
  • Reply 19 of 65
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    1. It doesn't go fast? The average human being walks ~3 MPH, and runs maybe 5 MPH over short distances. How many people here can seriously run better than a 10 minute mile over more than one mile? I think I barely can. I can run a 7 minute mile, but then after that I fade quickly.



    2. Awkward? More awkward than a bike, razor or car?



    3. Of course, it's bleeding edge and one of a kind.



    4. Where do you put your bike? car? motorcycle?



    5. Yes, Kamen envisions cities eventually accomodating short range transportation like this. Old cities at the turn of the century didn't have wide enough avenues for cars.



    6. And a bike? Scooter?



    7. And a bike? Scooter?



    alliance, you're being amazingly narrowminded.
  • Reply 20 of 65
    [quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

    [QB]1. It doesn't go fast? The average human being walks ~3 MPH, and runs maybe 5 MPH over short distances. How many people here can seriously run better than a 10 minute mile over more than one mile? I think I barely can. I can run a 7 minute mile, but then after that I fade quickly.<hr></blockquote>



    how fast does it go? now how does that compare to the car it replaces? over a short stretch, it might not be significant, but the layout of most cities and suburbs in this country, things are many miles apart even for short and simple tasks such as going to pick up some groceries.



    [quote] 2. Awkward? More awkward than a bike, razor or car?<hr></blockquote>



    how heavy is it? can you easily pick it up, like a bike, and carry it over a not so friendly surface? cars are completely different in function, so shouldn't even be compared.



    [quote]3. Of course, it's bleeding edge and one of a kind.<hr></blockquote>



    good, so let the elite snobs have their fun with it while commoners use their legs...or hondas (still barely more expensive than a segway and much more practical overall).





    [quote]4. Where do you put your bike? car? motorcycle?<hr></blockquote>



    bike=lock it up with a chain. i've seen bikes stolen that range from $20-$300. locks dont deter anyone from that, so why should you expect someone to lay off something thats 15 times more expensive?? the "club"? hah, that doesnt do anything. easy to steal...

    car=doors that enclose it, so much more difficult to steal, and many more available, so less likely to steal.

    motorcycle=i dont have much experience with them, so wont comment.





    [quote]5. Yes, Kamen envisions cities eventually accomodating short range transportation like this. Old cities at the turn of the century didn't have wide enough avenues for cars.<hr></blockquote>



    wow, kamens a genius...and laughing all the way to the bank...

    so we tear down EVERYTHING and start again??? the infrastructure will not change as long as cities are as spread out as they are. cars are a NECESSITY just to get to downtown. once you're there, thats a different story, but again...it's cheaper and more convenient to walk. light rail of some sort (subway or train) would be more usefull as people are so spread out in suburbs surrounding cities.



    [quote]6. And a bike? Scooter?<hr></blockquote>



    see earlier point



    [quote]7. And a bike? Scooter?<hr></blockquote>



    i dont see any bikes going around downtown houston when i walk there--too crowded. and i havent seen a scooter in maybe a dozen years...

    you can fit more people per square meter of walkway compared to segways per square meter. things would be much more congested if everyone rode a segway instead of walking.



    [quote]alliance, you're being amazingly narrowminded.<hr></blockquote>





    eugene, you're being amazingly unrealistic (overly optimistic?).
Sign In or Register to comment.