JTB Chubu Corp will start a guide tour service by using the "Segway," a self-balancing two-wheeled electric vehicle, at Chubu Centrair International Airport (Centrair) in Japan Sept 13, 2008.
Although Segways are used for some guide tours in resorts and amusement facilities in Japan, this is the first time the vehicle has been introduced to a highly-public place like an airport. SGI Japan Co Ltd, the general sales agent of the Segway, plans to take this occasion to actively promote its use in major Japanese airports.
In the guide tour named "Segway Guide Tour," a guide/instructor leads participants who are on Segways. They will tour every floor of the airport terminal including the ones that have check-in counters and sky decks. The service costs ¥3,500 (approx US$32.6) and takes about 50 minutes.
The tour will take place every day from Sept 13 to Oct 13, 2008. After this period, it will be offered at irregular intervals. Until Oct 13, the tour starts at 10:00, 11:30 and 15:00 with a limit of four passengers on each trip. It is restricted to persons 18 years of age or older.
According to SGI Japan, 40,000 units of Segways have so far been sold in the world, and they are mainly used in the fields of police and security as well as in guide tours and golf courses. At airports outside Japan, they are mostly used for security purposes as in Baltimore Washington International Airport in the US and Munich International Airport in Germany.
SGI Japan has conducted the demonstration experiments of going on patrol on Segways in highly-public facilities such as Tokyo Big Sight and the Hitachi Seaside Park.
Currently, it is prohibited to ride a Segway on public ways in Japan by the Road Traffic Law. But at least 40 states in the US and many countries in Europe established a new category, EPAMD (Electrical Personal Assistive Mobility Device), for the Segway and authorized its use on sidewalks and bikeways.
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