Towards the end of 2005 we began preparing material for our very first Segway NZ Newsletter. The intention was to develop a regular publication that we'd send out free to all of our existing customers. It would keep them up-to-date with news, developments and the latest Segway products. These newsletters would also be useful promotional materials for anyone interested in the world of Segway, particularly in that it would provide NZ-centric information.
Issue One was published on 18 January 2006, and we reproduce it below. In some ways, the Segway NZ Newsletters were the forerunner to this very Segway NZ News website blog - from a time when electronic communications were still in their infancy. Not everyone had an email address in 2005.
There were already about 100 Segway HT's - or 'Human Transporters' as first-generation machines were known back then - in use around New Zealand (today it is around 1,000). About half were in the hands of private recreational and commuter owners, and the remainder were split between mobility users and business users including security, productivity, promotions and prizes. Interestingly, within just a few years the percentage of mobility users across New Zealand would rise significantly.
The i180 range had recently been released, with a choice between original NiMH and new Lithium battery packs. New for that line was the i180 Police package tailored to this segment that was growing fast in the USA. The Segway XT model had also been updated, the GT (Golf) model had just launched.
Our first Newsletter nicely captured and reflected the design language being used at the time of the first-generation HT models. The front page includes a screenshot of what was then our freshly launched, completely updated website (a vast improvement over the original www.segway.co.nz site that Philip Bendall had hand-coded in simple HTML in 2004).
On page two we highlighted the upcoming '1st World Segway HT Polo Championship' scheduled to be played on 18 February 2006 in Auckland. Philip Bendall was the captain of the Pole Blacks and his team included tech entrepreneurs such as Rod Drury (Xero, Aftermail). The Pole Blacks would be facing off the Aftershocks arriving direct from USA led by Steve 'Woz' Wozniack - co-founder of Apple. Woz would give a keynote speech at a Black Tie event, and all Segway HT owners were invited to attend.
Other news included how WowWee - maker of the then-popular 'Robosapien' and 'Roboraptor' toys - was to launch a self-balancing robot called p-Bot by licensing Segway's 'Smart Motion' technology. Alas, it never made it to market.
We also encouraged the formation of SEGNZ - the Segway Enthusiasts Group New Zealand - to promote the interests of Segway HT users. Activities might include lobbying central and local governments, developing 'world best' riding guidelines, and generally raising the awareness and benefits of Segway's pioneering self-balancing technologies.
And finally, Segway NZ published Philip Bendall's view that the Segway PT was a 'mobility device' as defined under the newly minted Land Transport Act (2005), and set out the rules where mobility devices can be operated by any person - whether disabled or not. In most instances mobility devices are operated on footpaths in New Zealand, if present (otherwise along the side of the road). Using a Segway PT in this manner was consistent with specific laws for self-balancing vehicles that had already been passed in most US states by this time, as well as in many EU nations. So it was a reasonable expectation that this would be appropriate in New Zealand as well. Alas, NZTA and NZ Police did not agree with this interpretation of the law, and various vocal local body politicians and members of the public decided there was mileage to be had in "hating on Segways". Some years later this matter would be tested in court, after a disabled user in sleepy little Kaikohe was fined (where the footpaths are extra-wide and the population is tiny). The court made findings of fact and law that determined the Segway PT was indeed a mobility device, and the fines were dismissed. The court's ruling was not appealed, and its findings of law apply nationwide to all users of Segway Personal Transporters to this day.
It all seems rather quaint now.
Not just the idea of a printed newsletter.
More-so the resistance that once was to micro-mobility users sharing spaces with pedestrians, and with cyclists and other vehicles on the roadways. The Segway PT remains the safest, best-designed micro-mobility solution yet devised. Fast-forward a decade and today there are many hundreds of electric KickScooters for every Segway PT that is in use across New Zealand. It's kinda funny how change unfolds.