The RIT Sentinel

Public Safety at RIT recently purchased at least three Segway Personal Transporter devices, and sources say they plan to purchase at least twenty more. These are the little two-wheeled wonders that stand on their own and are moved simply by leaning forward or back. Why these would be purchased by a security organization on a large campus is obvious - they’re considerably faster than walking. But it’s a bad idea.

At $3000 each, with three totaling at least one third of one year’s tuition at RIT (twice one year’s tuition if the twenty are purchased), this purchase should have been better considered. Yes, the Segways can be useful outside. But a significant amount of the area that is a part of the RIT campus is in fact inside. Indoors, a Segway device can pose considerable danger to students, faculty, other staff, and even equipment - particularly during busy hours, which for some areas is all day. Outdoors, it can also pose a danger, especially on the already overcrowded Quarter Mile. Segways also can provide an advantage over walking in speed, but the RIT campus is criss-crossed with roads, and there is nowhere on campus that a Segway could be used to access more quickly than getting into a car, and as Public Safety does not consider themselves subject to parking regulations such as fire zones and striped areas, they park very near to any building, inside which a Segway is unsafe anyway. And again, although some models of the Segway can maintain speeds of up to 12 mph, actually attempting such speeds on campus would be extremely dangerous, as the Quarter Mile and other walkways are nearly always busy.

This recent purchase is a waste of students’ tuition. After Campus Safety was renamed to Public Safety (for reasons that can only be described as PR) a few weeks ago, and all of its vehicles were repainted and signs changed literally overnight at no doubt significant cost to the institution, the purchase of what amounts to expensive, showy toys for Public Safety is nothing more than a slap in the face.

Public Safety’s slogan is “It’s all about RESPECT.” All I’m asking is that Public Safety show some respect. I don’t know that I can speak for all students, but I believe I speak for a majority of the student body when I say that I’m paying for an education, not for security guards to ride around on glorified scooters that are at best gaudy toys and at worst a safety hazard. Respecting that would be a good start. Return those shiny little toys of yours and spend the money on something that benefits the community at large.

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(Added 3/30/07) A student has pointed out to the editor that in addition to the fact that the Segways would provide little, if any, benefit to Public Safety staff, they would be all but useless during winter, which comprises a significant part of the school year here in Rochester. Due to the fact that they would be unsafe on ice, such low-weight vehicles cannot possibly achieve a sigificant amount of traction, and that the salt that is liberally applied to road and path surfaces here would likely corrode a Segway to near-uselessness in a matter of days, they could only be used inside, and as stated earlier in this post, it is not safe to do so. So let’s add this factor to the earlier discussion - not only are these little more than toys, they can’t even be used during nearly a third of the school year? Should Public Safety even be testing these in the first place, much less planning to purchase even more?

Now a critique like this would be amiss without providing an alternative option. Let’s assume for now that Public Safety does in fact need another mode of transportation in addition to the current fleet of automotives currently used. Let’s use bicycles as contrast. A mid-range mountain bike, which should be sufficient for individual transportation around campus, averages about $300-400, less than one sixth of the total cost of a Segway. Bikes require little or no training - most people already have experience with them. One can easily maintain 12 mph or even faster on a bicycle. Segways can’t handle particularly rough terrain, soft ground, or thin trails, which mountain bikes are specifically designed for. Security is also a factor. Since a Segway cannot be safely used inside, if a Public Safety person wanted to go inside, they either would have to leave the Segway outside or park it somewhere secure, which may be a significant distance away. Bikes, on the other hand, can be secured with a $15 chain to any random stationary piece of metal. There is also significantly less temptation to hijack a bike or strip it down for parts. There is also the issue of maintenance. Segways probably cannot be maintained by consumers or owners, and even if they can, the parts will still be expensive as Segways have not yet reached a commodity status. A bike, on the other hand, can be stripped down and rebuilt by anyone with even the most basic mechanical skill and bike parts are easily and cheaply available at many stores. The only advantage Segways seem to have over bikes is that they stand out, they’re flashy. Public Safety is wasting an awful lot of money just to look more imposing.