I lived in downtown Chicago when Segways came out, and while the tourists ate them up, the locals hated them.
Since everyone using them was still also learning how to ride them, they were constantly crashing into cars, people, dogs, gardens, and anything else that wasn't moving out of their way. The complaints to the city were endless, and I think the local alderman managed to get some kind of restrictions on them.
I thought they seemed like a good idea, though a little large. I expected they'd eventually take off, but now that I live somewhere that tourists don't venture, I'd actually forgotten that Segways exist.
I think the seeds of that good idea became the much more compact electric scooter (Bird and friends), and for those willing to climb more of a learning curve, eskate and onewheel.
The critical thing for all of those, though, is that they can work as last mile devices because you can carry them indoors, onto buses/trains, etc. A segway is strictly worse than a bike in that regard because you still have to park it outside somewhere, but it's an awkward shape that doesn't fit into the usual facilities for doing so (and obviously it wasn't supposed to get wet, either).
heh, I spent 30 minutes in San Fran trying to learn to ride one of those Scoot moped electric scooter things. Almost fell in the garage several times. Thankfully, it's much easier on the street - more grip, and low-speed turns on an incline are probably the worst.
Still, it's scary to think about how dangerous they are and iirc you can ride them without any sort of motorcycle license.
Got pulled over for going down a "one way after dark" street. Asked the cop how I was supposed to know. He said "Natives just do." Didn't give me a ticket though.
Once my younger brother got big enough to want to push the shopping cart at the grocery store, I lived in constant fear for the health of my Achilles tendons. I don't know how many times he crashed into the back of my ankle, and those were only when I wasn't watching him like a hawk.
I look at a Segway and wonder where that deck would intersect with my ankles today.
Since everyone using them was still also learning how to ride them, they were constantly crashing into cars, people, dogs, gardens, and anything else that wasn't moving out of their way. The complaints to the city were endless, and I think the local alderman managed to get some kind of restrictions on them.
I thought they seemed like a good idea, though a little large. I expected they'd eventually take off, but now that I live somewhere that tourists don't venture, I'd actually forgotten that Segways exist.