mmmmmm, a wheelchair or golf cart isn't quite the same thing. You have to be able to stand to ride one of those Segways. The reason people get carts is because they can't stand for long periods of time due to disabilites or they are just lazy. Could be a hit with the lazy crowd though. ;)

Most of the people in golf carts at the race track are using them for transport, not because they can't walk --

speaking of golf carts, I wonder if any of the golf tourneys would be interested in renting them out for their staffers to get around... you could make quite a nice little auxillary business providing services like that to major events, if you could get a lock on the concession --

Thanks for spilling my idea to the world. :P That's why I asked how they worked on grass and hilly terrain.

Thanks for spilling my idea to the world. :P That's why I asked how they worked on grass and hilly terrain.[/b][/quote]
Oh damn ulfie, I'm sorry. Ah well, you need some partners?

You can usually reduce the insurance premium on items like this if they are customised in some way that makes them difficult to resell or less attractive to steal.

Good excuse to do a custom paint job. maybe even rebrand it as a "HiRiser" or something too.

I want one in canary yellow with flames painted along the side! :D

LMAO! Great pics, Mike!

The Stan Dance is hysterical!

Have to admit though, from a distance it looks like people are riding on top of two Oreos stuck together. hehe

Drav you are too skinny to be thinking about food like that!!

Ulfie, they work very well in grass.... they say not to try steep hills, but I think the Segway could do it - there are some other tires you can use which have better traction.

Problem in NO, or actually a good thing for our busiess, is we have no hills.... so I won't be able to test it out here easily...

Segways were banned in San Fran due to the steepness of hills.... I would imagine they would go flying if person does not know how to handle them well....

Mike, not sure about this. First, yes, the laws.

Some place it might work is a place like KeyWest. I rented scooters there and it was convenient. But, the cost of a segway is far more than that of a scooter? so, you would have to charge maybe 5 - 6 x more. I am not sure how many peeps would do that.

I think once the price comes down on them it might work.

One thought is bring them into a local scooter rental place on "consignment" and see how it does. That may be the only way to really test the theory. Of course if it does work then you'll have the scooter place rushing out to buy some himself



Last edited by Jesse_DD at Jun 6 2003, 07:05 AM

Jesse, our target price right now is $20 per 1/2 hour.....

So far most people when asked on the street seemed happy with that price. Of course its a novelty right now, so people would pay their $20 and go for 30 minutes....

There would also be discounts for longer periods, and packages....

Plus we will be marketing this to people who have a little more money....

that dude from En Sync who was hosting the MTV movie awards last night was riding on one of those at the end of the award show ... kinda funny

Mike - I guess that one segway rental a day and you would probably do okay. I mean 20$ x 30 = $600 a month. You'll make your money back in 5 - 6 months. Wonder what the upkeep is. Do you have to send them away everytime the smallest thing goes wrong? When you do that it might be out of commission for 30 days? The insurance for one of those scooters was around $100 a person so you would have to get maybe 500$ a person.

I think as a novelty item in a place like NO (big transient crowd) it might work. It would have to be in a transient place like that. Once the novelty wears off maybe the price comes down and you can rent them for the day.

I know that one problem with scooters is theft. How do you protect against that. My guess is that once you start getting into the 1/2 day and full day rentals people will be taking them to restaurants and hotels, etc. how do you keep them from being the #1 item on peoples "5 finger" list

"how do you keep them from being the #1 item on peoples "5 finger" list "

This is where I come into play : )

LOL, they'll be making a Segway version of the LoJack!

I think the idea has some merit, most definitely, it's just a lot to work out -- sort of the same set of crap to deal with as opening a bar, since you have so many insurance problems at various junctures, you have to get the city on your side, and the neighbors probably don't want to see you coming into the neighborhood ;)

How are these things around salt water? It would really make a ton of sense to rent them for a day by the beach, like people do bikes and stuff, provided they will maneuver on the sand and not require too much maintenance from the salt spray --

Rather than trying to get laws changed all over NO to start with maybe you could design a 30min scenic points route the renters had to stick to and sell the idea to the City as a tourism booster.. if they want it they will have to frame whatever law is needed for you ;-))

Opti, that makes perfect sense.... but this is New Orleans you are dealing with.

The politicans are only concerned with what will help them line their pockets.....

That was kind of what I was getting at.. I meant if it makes the city money they may be more inclined to pass a suitable law..

or are we talkin more old fashioned style incentives :headwall:

Rental units in waikiki (sp?) or any other major tourist spot. Big interest by the Japanese. I bet you'd be booked 100% of the time. They rent practically everything in Hawaii. Unfortunately Honolulu has banned them from the sidewalks.