The first time I heard of “Ginger”, the device that was to become the Segway, was through some Apple-fan web site which proclaimed that Steve Jobs said that, “some day, people will build cities around this”.
From one point of view, he’s right. One day the streets, businesses and your home will have ramp access for you to use Ginger; but we should already be there in light of the disabled. Now, a transcript of Jobs meeting with Dean Kamen (with Jeff Bezos) paints a different picture. What’s kinda weird is that earlier this year, I met John Doerr.
But I digress.
The thing that I loved about the Segway was the thing I loved about the Sinclair C5, the Ford Ka and the New Bus for London.
These are transportation devices that were built for tomorrow. They polarise – you either love them or hate them (or ridicule them) but you can barely ignore them. (The New Bus for London was designed and is manufactured here in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus).
I think it’s important to consider what we build and always build for tomorrow. Create things that polarise opinions.
Consider that the Segway is illegal on both the footpaths and the public highway in the UK. It’s evident to me that we still build our cities around the width of Roman chariot wheels. How progressive.
Segway is also illegal in most cities in USA. I used to see a rare one now and then. Haven’t for over a year. The guy who bought the company went over a cliff on one! I’ve ridden one. It’s the closest you can come to flying while still on the ground.