Segway PT’s tilt at electric transport revolution comes to an end

Creation of the Segway PT (Individual Transporter) – maybe the most recognisable item made by the corporation of the same title – will cease future thirty day period, it has been confirmed.

The self-balancing, two-wheeled personalized light electrical motor vehicle (PLEV) is presently built at a factory in the US state of New Hampshire, but the remaining instance will roll off the manufacturing line on fifteen July.

The Segway PT launched in 2001 and was hailed as the upcoming of personalized city transportation. Although the item acquired acceptance with metropolis tour guides – as effectively as some security businesses and law enforcement forces – the common general public hardly ever bought it in major quantities.

In 2015, Segway was obtained by Chinese rival agency Ninebot. The corporation now makes a wide variety of distinct PLEVs – which includes e-scooters, electrical roller skates and even a go-kart.

Segway president Judy Cai announced the finish of PT manufacturing, indicating: “Within its first decade, the Segway PT turned a staple in security and law enforcement, seen as an helpful and effective personalized motor vehicle.”

About the class of the Segway PT’s 19-calendar year lifespan, it is been associated in a number of significant-profile incidents. In 2003, US President George W Bush was pictured slipping off a Segway, although Usain Bolt collided with a cameraman who was using one particular in 2015.

Not all incidents involving the Segway were being insignificant, though – some experienced tragic outcomes. In 2009, the then-proprietor of Segway – Jimi Heselden – accidentally drove his PT off a cliff and crashed into the River Wharfe in West Yorkshire. The crash expense Heselden his lifetime, with the coroner discovering that he experienced been making an attempt to allow a doggy-walker pass when the incident happened.

Have you at any time used a Segway? Let us know what you consider down below…