Mayor Daley of Chicago big Segway proponent.

[ftropea]

Daley sold on scooters, London-style taxis here
September 20, 2002

BY FRAN SPIELMAN CITY HALL REPORTER

Mayor Daley on Thursday gave his powerful blessing to two innovative modes of transportation--London taxis and battery-powered scooters--after joy rides on both.

Daley said he test drove the $5,000 Segway Human Transporter in his City Hall office recently and came away impressed--if not a little dizzy.

"It was easy.... You can do a 360 [degree turn] and spin right around," he said, telling reporters the ride was fun.

It was clear from his comments that Daley was the prime mover behind the three-month Chicago police scooter experiment.

Daley said he can't recall precisely how the Segway came to his attention--whether it caught his eye in a magazine article or from a direct approach from the inventor of the self-balancing technology.

But Daley is certain of one thing: He's determined to push the envelope of new technology to improve employee productivity during troubled economic times.

"If someone has to walk from here all the way to the other end--you could be on this [instead]," Daley told reporters after a police graduation ceremony at cavernous McCormick Place.

"If you start cutting 25 minutes a day per employee--that's a lot of people. [You could use it] at O'Hare field when you have to have a plumber go from one end to the other end, or a tradesman. It's technology. You have to be able to [find out] whether or not you can use technology--which you can."

Full article: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-daley20.html

***********

Sounds like a big edorsement there! The potential success of the Segway-HT in Chicago is looking good at the moment :)

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea

[Casey]

He really sounds up on Segway. Now as long as he doesn't get "battery powered scooter" confused with Segway, maybe Chicago will get on the Segway bandwagon.

Frank

[Brooster]

Yeah, Groovy had posted this original story from yesterday's (9/19/02) Chicago Tribune over at TIQ. Unfortunately, you'll have to do the free registration to read the full story. It just basically says that the city has leased six machines for a 3-month trial in the downtown area. Good to see that it's receiving a positive endorsement from our sometimes cranky mayor. :)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/search/chi_all.jsp?Query=Segway



Brooster

[Casey]

Hi B-roaster. I'm registered with the Tribune as well as the NY Times and a couple of others so I can access their stories. I don't know why they require it as there are other papers that don't.

Anyway, I have read the story, and I think I put reference to it in Facts and Rumors yesterday. Thanks for keeping us up on the news. We can always take advantage of other peoples searches if it applies here.
:)

Frank

[Brooster]

Kinda sounds like the cops aren't real impresed, unfortunately, and the Segway WON'T be used on sidewalks during the 3-month trial.

From yesterday's (9/19/02) Sun Times:

http://www.sun-times.com/output/news/cst-nws-cop19.html

Edit: Of course the opinions of two cops hardly constitute a representative sample. This article makes it sound like only two cops will be using the Segway, which I find a little hard to believe.

Brooster

[Casey]

Yes, it says that Brooster, but lets put it IN context. quote:
Chicago cops testing high-tech scooter

September 19, 2002

BY FRANK MAIN CRIME REPORTER

After a day of tooling around Grant Park on a Segway Human Transporter, Chicago police officer Megan Griffin was not ready to trade in her bicycle for the battery-powered scooter.

"It seems like this would be good for writing parking tickets," Griffin said Wednesday after her first full-day test of the $5,000 device. "But I think for aggressive patrol, an officer is better off on foot, in a car or a bike."

The city has leased six of the scooters, which feature self-balancing technology that stemmed from research on wheelchairs. They are getting three-month trial runs at the Police Department, O'Hare and Midway airports and other city departments at a cost of $9,600.

Griffin attracted stares from passersby while her Segway hummed along the bike paths and grassy lawns in the park.

"How fast does that thing go?" she was asked over and over.

The answer: 12.5 mph.

Griffin and another Central District officer will test the scooter for the Police Department until Dec. 16.

Inventor Dean Kamen introduced the 85-pound Segway in December 2001.

It looks a bit like an old-fashioned push lawn mower with big rubber wheels. Push forward on the handlebars and the Segway moves forward. Lean back and it stops. No brakes. No gas pedal.

"The movement gets so natural you don't notice you are leaning forward to make it go," Griffin said.

Gyroscopes and computers allow the rider to negotiate curbs and ruts.

"It works really well on grass and can go up hilly areas with dirt," Griffin said. "But you have to worry about hitting tree stumps, and slippery grass can be dangerous. It is best to keep to the pavement."

There are other limitations: Griffin said she was forced to charge the battery twice Wednesday in two 30-minute sessions. Joseph Eppolito, Central Police District manager, said officers would not have time to put down the kickstand before getting off the scooter to chase a suspect and would not want to leave the expensive machine unprotected.

He thinks the Segway might be best suited for patrolling the long corridors of airport terminals.

The Chicago Police Department is keeping the Segway off city streets and sidewalks during the pilot program. Griffin's Segway was delivered to Grant Park in a squad car.

How the devices affect pedestrians is a major issue for the company, which is on a mission to persuade states to pass legislation allowing the devices to be used on sidewalks. Thirty-three states have passed such laws, a company spokeswoman said. Such legislation is pending in Illinois and California.

Segway sells the scooters only to businesses and governments, but consumers can start buying them next year.

The Atlanta Police Department tested six of the scooters earlier this year downtown and at Hartsfield Airport. The U.S. Postal Service tested the Segway for mail delivery, and Disney Cruise Line announced last week the devices will be available on ships.

"Chicago is a good example of the way municipalities can improve the efficiency and productivity of their work with the Segway," said the spokeswoman for the New Hampshire-based company. "It is an urban, sidewalk-friendly city that would be a good fit."

Brian Steele, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, said the goal of the city's pilot program is twofold: to see whether Segways would make city services more efficient and to learn how they would affect pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

"How will this brand-new technology fit into an already vibrant transportation mix in Chicago?" he said. "That's what we want to know."

Frank

[Brooster]

Okay, sooo ... withhout using them on sidewalks or streets, what's left besides the airport terminals and perhaps the bike paths in the parks? And the hallways at City Hall and police HQ?

When I read the first article, I came away with the understanding that the HTs were going to be tested to see how well they blend into a real-life urban environment. Will they be kept from sidewalks because Illinois has not yet passed a law specifically legalizing their use? Perhaps I'm not properly informed, but I'm not aware of any Illinois laws expressly prohibiting them.

It just seems strange to conduct a 3-month "test" when you can't really "test" what the machine is intended to do!

No doubt we'll be seeing more about this in the Chicago media. And it wouldn't be the first time a newspaper didn't have the facts straight, either.

Broo

Brooster

[Casey]

I can only guess at their reason for keeping Segway off the sidewalks during the test. Your suggestion that it hasn't yet been approved by the state is one possibility. So is being prudent, and covering themselves legally.

But that isn't the gist of her thinking IMO. Her statement,
quote: "It seems like this would be good for writing parking tickets," Griffin said Wednesday after her first full-day test of the $5,000 device. "But I think for aggressive patrol, an officer is better off on foot, in a car or a bike."


seems the result of her unfamiliarity with it. I also don't see Segway as a high speed persuit vehicle. OTOH, I feel the same about bicycles.

quote:"But you have to worry about hitting tree stumps, and slippery grass can be dangerous. It is best to keep to the pavement."

If she thinks tree stumps and slippery grass aren't hazardous to bicycles and people running, I believe she must be very nonobservant. Tree stumps and slippery areas are dangerous even to cars and trucks. I know these things from personal experience. Anybody who has lived through an Illinois winter would also.

quote:Joseph Eppolito, Central Police District manager, said officers would not have time to put down the kickstand before getting off the scooter to chase a suspect and would not want to leave the expensive machine unprotected.


Number one, it is self balancing if left running as they do their patrol cars. And the security issue can be solved easily by a lockout that prohibits it's use unless an officer wearing a matching security device is onboard. The same technology that COULD be used to keep officers guns by being grabbed and fired by a criminal.

As to being specifically outlawed on Illinois sidewalks. I believe all wheeled vehicles not designated as medical devices (ie wheelchairs and Jazzys etc) are currently against the law. She sounds like somebody who just doesn't like change, and is trying to rationalize reasons to not like Segway.

Frank