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View Full Version : jack cook the rental place in canada replies..




pt
06-02-2003, 09:58 PM
folks, jack from the rental place in canada wrote back. here are his answers to my questions, i have follow ups with him and will post those as well if and when he replies.

i chatted with the vancouver officials today, they're saying something very different than what jack has said below, but soon-- i'll have that posted as well.

again, my goal is to find out the scoop and work with these places or at least point out concerns and raise questions about safety.

1. How long have you rented Segway HTs?

We opened for business on May 2nd, however anyone who came in the first week we advised that the rentals were free due to that we were training our trainers. We needed clients to understand that the trainers were trained but were not battle ready to deal with the public.


1a. Do you rent any other modes of transportation?

No

2. How did you purchase 16 Segway HTs? According to www.segcenter.com you have 16, Segway had a limit of 2 until a recent weeks.

Actually we have 8 in our Vancouver location and another 8 in Porlland OR. We have, however another 24 on order of which half will go to Vancouver and the other half will go to our business in Portland. Portland is not a rental agencey for Segways. You are correct about the limit of two, however most who took the 2 hour training before purchasing their segway were allowed to boost their order to 5 after the training. Initially I purchased the rights from others who sold their segways on eBay. Eventually Segway LLC allowed the purchase of further Segways.

2a. Also, Segway HTs are only sold in the USA, how did you get them to Canada?

You are correct, Segways are only shipped to US addresses. Although we are the single largest possessor of Segways in Canada, there are about a hundred owners of Segways in Canada. Each probably went a different route to get them to canada, probably initially shipping to a US address and then redirecting to Canada. There are no restrictions to importation into canada. In our case, we shipped via courier.

3. Did you inform Segway, LLC you were going to rent Segway HTs?

No

4. The laws state the Segway HT is illegal in Canada, how are you renting the Segways? Please elaborate.

Federally, the Segway is not illegal to have in Canada. Transport Canada has no restriction to importation to canada. There are no issues pertaining to private property. Provincially is a different matter. Each Province probably has specific legislation pertaining to Segways (or not) however we have yet to find a province who has banned them in their province. As for the towns, cities or municipalities again we have not found one who has banned them.

I believe your actual question is limitation on roads, sidewalks and parks. I can quote the circumstances in BC but not other provinces if you wish.

5. According to the Vancouver officials you were ask not to use the HTs in parks and other areas, what are your comments on that?

We have not been approached by the Parks Board in Vancouver, BC nor have we seen anything to suggest that they are not allowed in the parks in Vancouver..

5a. Where were you asked to not use the HTs.

At present we have not been asked nor directed directly by anyone to not use a Segway in any specific location. However there have been indirect statements by others suggesting that we should or should not do something specific. ICBC, for instance, in a newspaper article suggested that they are illegal on the streets but it would appear that they have not read all the acts. A Vancouver City Police spokesperson suggested that they classify
the Segway as a motorized skateboard and skateboards are not allowed on the streets. Again the police department were probably not aware that the city of Vancouver just recended the skateboard bylaw which now allows skateboards on ancillary streets.

*(pt: i am talking with the vancouver officials, so far they've said the opposite, when they reply to my queries i will post back the details)

6. According to a renter, you did not show the safety video. Can you comment on that?

Every person who has come into our store, who wishes to get on a Segway, views the 17 minute Safety video produced by Segway.

[u]*(pt: i sent a follow up question asking a comment on how andrew was able to use a ht without seeing the video).</u>

7. According to web site which reviewed your service hands on training was only 15 minutes, is that accurate?

According to (a) web site...

The training that takes place is not unlike the training that takes place from the segway team. Although the training is suppose to be 2 hours by Segway, in fact if you break it down, it is less than 30 minutes. If you have been there, you will remember that you spent time watching two videos, one on safety and the other watching the PR video from Dean. You were then asked to take a written test and a follow-up Q&A session. Then you were instructed on a few items that pertained to ownership, assembly and how to train others how to use the segway. You spent time on the segway (as much as you wanted) and then you were allowed to go home. The actual training took less than 30 minutes.

Out "hands on training" is actually closer to 20-25 minutes. having done this about 2,000 times I can tell you that women as opposed to men are easier to train, shorter as opposed to tall are easier to train as well. Men from the age of 20 - 25 are the most difficult to deal with because it is all about speed and complete disregard to safety.

The first 5+/- minutes are dealing with how the Segway works and establishing balance and turning. the next 10 minutes are dealing with feeling comfortable, learning how to stop, leaning in turns, obsticles, etc
all in the black mode. The next step is learning to get on or off the machine and then you are put into yellow mode. In yellow mode you are asked to do a piroette and to go through a series of obsticles in reverse. Our users are not allowed to use the red mode.

The signing of our waiver states that the individual is not permitted to allow others to use their machine. This eliminates the need to train clients how to train others.

As for the test/questionaire, we answer any questions our clients may have before they get on the machine and then we cover the same items on the test while the clients are on the machine.

8. A recent video was posted on the web called "Andrew the Segway Monster" where a renter of yours crashed a Segway, can you comment on that?

If you are asking us to comment about an individual who does not give us a release, we will not comment. If you are asking about a general question we have no difficulty with answering your question.

9. According to a renter you met them at a public park for training, can you elaborate and describe how you train people?

This question is about two different topics: Renters in Parks and Procedures for Training. Once again the first question is about a specific person. However it is not our policy to train outside our rental agency in Vancouver. Please See #7 for a discription on our training methods.

10. According a source in Vancouver, we were told your business plan to rent quite often until you get "shut down" and then resell the Segways to make a tidy profit, can you confirm / deny or elaborate.

Generally speaking, you should always get a second source before suggesting or publishing, this avoids the nasty retaliations from the accused. However your "source" is inaccurate. Regarding renting as much as possible, well, this is a rental agency... we rent segways! We will rent as many as we can within our 10am - 6pm daily operation. Being a colder climate there will be high and low seasons. And I believe that is the essence of business, to make a profit.

Will we get shut down? Not likely as there are no issues to suggest that we can be "shut" down.

As for selling the Segways for more than what was paid for them, check out eBay and you will see that Segways (used ones) are selling for less than SRP.

11. Do you plan to work with the Canadian goverment to avoid a nationwide ban?

This question is based on the assumption that the segway is going to be banned. I have heard nothing to indicate that this is the case. I doubt that the canadian government will make the decision to ban or not, rather the canadian govenment will probably pass the decision on to the provinces and the provinces will probably pass it to the municipalities. Will I lobby the cities, I will do my best, however Segway LLC is probably much better at explaining the nuances of the segway and will do a better job. Further, I understand that Segway LLC is attending the City of Vancouver next week for a demo and presentation.

Jack Cook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Segway Rentals
Future Human Transport Solutions Company Inc
1701 Fir Street, Vancouver, BC, V6J-5J9
Ph: 604-734-9280
eMail: Info@FHTSC.com
www.SegwayBC.com




mellenger
06-03-2003, 12:35 PM
Sweet, I jsut turned 27 a few months back!

========
http://m3mm.com

st7860
06-24-2003, 03:58 PM
thats funny look at this , on the website of the infamous segway rental store(jack's ) http://www.segwaybc.com/page5.html they claim its not illegal then they say look at http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/M/MotorVehicle/151_2002.htm which is the government regulations about these vehicles but then a segway is more than 500watts, and a segway doesnt meet the 3b "prevents the motor from turning on or engaging before the motor assisted cycle attains a speed of 3 km/hr." either

st7860
01-19-2006, 01:47 PM
lol look at this people, the same jack cook is running for election.

http://www.jackcook.ca/

macgeek
01-19-2006, 02:51 PM
wow a pt post!!!



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