I have been using Segway PTs in SeaDream's tour programs since December 2002, and so have had the pleasure of offering the PT experience to hundreds of people. I use an PT for my personal transport and enjoyment as well. I have yet to have a single negative reaction from anyone who has stepped on the platform. Truly understanding the PT, in my opinion, is a tactile experience. The visual is interesting, you can talk it up 'til the cows come home, but people just don't "get it" until they are on it. Then, you don't need words any longer. It is that intuitive and organic.

From my practical point of view as it relates to tourism, the PT offers a precious commodity when one travels—time. It gives you a way to get to sites faster, so it stretches the amount of things you can see. There are 23 miles of corridor in the Vatican Museum and Garden structure. Imagine how much more time you can have in the galleries if you could silently 'glide' down the corridors. There is no better way to tour the Art Deco district in Miami Beach, or lower Manhattan.

The Segway PT offers an easy and eco-friendly way to get from place to place without fumes or fuss. As a person who lives in Miami (which is hot all the time), and who organizes tours in many areas of the world, a big plus of the PT is that it creates a slight breeze as you glide from location to location, so you and your clothes arrive without feeling wet and over-heated!

The program I designed for SeaDream is strong on teaching basic Segway courtesies. Having traveled on the PT in several American cities and many international locations, I believe this courtesy can't be stressed too much. Slowing down to the speed of a walker before passing them in tight quarters, not "sneaking up" on joggers, obeying the same common-sense rules and regs as walkers—all of these things help demystify the PT and prevent people from being defensive about sharing their walking space with us "gliders."

I've ridden in boardrooms, on boardwalks and industrial piers. I've ridden through rain and over sand and snow, and the PT performs. Period.

When I go out on the PT for fun in South Beach, I share the Lincoln Road pedestrian area with bikers, skateboarders, rollerbladers and walkers. We all interact just fine, so long as we all obey the same rules. Candidly, I spend a lot of time giving total strangers little demo rides. However big the smile is on their face when they feel what the PT does, mine is double with the pleasure of having turned someone on to the 21st century's first new way of transport. It's a smile grabber!

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