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I wish! I remember years ago on Slashdot people were really hyped about this "Ginger" thing that was going to change how cities were designed. Then the Segway d
by alisonatwork 6y ago
I wish! I remember years ago on Slashdot people were really hyped about this "Ginger" thing that was going to change how cities were designed. Then the Segway dropped and immediately all these science-loving, future-thinking dreamers suddenly turned into NIMBYs.
The car-centric view has such a stranglehold on modern culture. Even in places like NYC you'll find pedestrians and public transport users dumping on cyclists or electric scooter riders, as if they're doing even a fraction to destroy the livability of the city as much as cabs and other large vehicles.
- jandrese 6y agoSegway's big fault was that it was just way too expensive. These small scooters are eventually proving the dream, mostly because normal people can actually afford them.
- ghaff 6y agoPrice was part of it but even the company thought that they really needed to be used on sidewalks and they spent a lot of money and effort lobbying for that to be legal. (Though to be fair bike lanes were less common in the US at the time.)
- jandrese 6y agoAs opposed to these scooter companies that just YOLOed the whole sidewalk situation and figured they would be too popular to ban once the courts/city councils finally got around to deciding what to do.
- xsmasher 6y agoSegway solved the wrong problem; turns out that being self-balancing wasn't important at all. The real problem was parking/storage at the stops of your trip. The "shared" aspect solves that problem, making them a lot more usable.