A group of MPs and Peers took this week rode on Segway Personal Transporters (PT) from the House of Commons to the Department for Transport as part of a cross-campaign to lift a public ban on the device.
Among those present at the demonstration were Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik, Conservative Shadow Lords DEFRA spokesman Earl Attlee, and Conservative Peer Earl Liverpool. They were joined by several Segway commuters.
Arriving at the DfT, the convoy handed a letter to the Government calling for a Segway PT trial to see how people in the UK could benefit from the devices, and a defined route-map to regulatory approval.
Current legislation does not allow use of Segway PTs other than on private land.
Opik told LocalGov they were a safe, ‘green’ and efficient alternative to the car, and should not be seen as competition to the bicycle.
He added: ‘The British Government seems paralysed with indecision. On the one hand they say that the Segway PT isn’t legal. On the other hand, they are unable to point to a single scrap of evidence in British law to show why they should be banned.’
The devices can be used in public space in most European countries, and 45 US states. They have a top speed of 12.5 mph and can be charged from a wall outlet for a few pence a day.
