Commuting
Segway Ireland - Segway Human Transporter » Solutions » Commuting
Current Urban congestion is growing at an alarming rate. Environmental issues and rising oil prices are becoming a real economic concern for Ireland as it moves forward. Taking all these items into consideration the following points highlight some of the reasons for the argument of the Segway® PT in an urban commuting environment. It is important to stress that the Segway is NOT intended to replace walking or cycling but to offer an alternative to the car for short journeys / commutes. The imformation below is intended to explain why the Segway is a viable alternative and by having less vehicles on the road, the roads become safer for oather users such as cyclists and pedestrians. This is not an attack on cars either. Cars have a very important role to play in society and in a non urban environment they are extremely practical. The purposes of this page is to focus on the urban center, congestion and the potential to address some of the issues with a benefit for all. This page should show that there are other products such as the Segway, electric bicycle etc that have a role to play in the bigger picture and that while they may be new and "weird" there is merit in their consideration. The Segway benefits and Possibilities: -
Small Footprint of 25” x 25”, (0.635m x 0.635m = .4m2). -
Extremely efficient 1kWh = 38km range (1 kWh = 1 Unit, 15c). -
Behaves like a pedestrian in pedestrian environments. -
Behaves like a runner / cyclist at higher speeds. -
Allows for social interaction with fellow users, cyclists and pedestrians. -
Maximum speed limited to 20kph, similar to average cyclist or good runner. -
Has state of the art redundant safety systems and alarms for user safety. -
The Segway cannot “coast” or “freewheel” it is always “actively driven”. -
Can be charged at any standard outlet -
Will fit through any standard doorway – easily brought inside -
Offers excellent visibility for rider and other road users due to raised and upright riding position. -
Can integrate into public transport infrastructure networks. -
Fits perfectly with the current DTO Cycle Policy. -
Works very well in first and last mile commuting situations. -
Ideal Park and Ride solution requiring a minimum of storage space – 14 Segways in a single 2.4m x 4.8m standard car park space. What about Car Congestion? Here are figures Published by the Dublin Transportation Office in 2006 based on data from the 2002 Census. the significant figures are as follows 49.9% of the journeys to work in Dublin are between 0-6 miles or 0 - 9.6km, This is a total of 170,000 trips one way to work. The current CSO publication, 2006 Census of Population – Volume 12 – Travel to Work, School and College; makes some very interesting comments in the Press release. Full report available here 1. The number of persons driving to work by car, lorry or van increased by over 225,000 between 2002 and 2006, an increase of 22%, according to a new report from the Central Statistics Office. 2. Of the 1.9 million workers in the State in April 2006, almost 1.1m (57%) drove a car to work – up from 55% in 2002. When combined with workers who travelled to work as car passengers or as van/lorry drivers seven out of ten of workers were private vehicle users in 2006. 3. While the overall number of bus users increased slightly, the share of public transport by bus fell from 6.7% in 2002 to 6.1% in 2006. The number of persons commuting to work by rail increased by over 66% compared with 2002 reflecting the introduction of the LUAS. 4. Train usage by workers was highest in Dublin’s north county area with Donabate (26%), Skerries (24%), Portmarnock and Malahide (both 20%) most prominent.
What about the Environment?
The EPA’s report on IRELAND’S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN 2006 noted the following points:- Overall
Total GHG emissions in 2006 were 69.77 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq), which is 0.8 percent lower than the level of emissions in 2005. Transport
Transport continues to be the dominant growth sector with emissions at 682,000 tonnes higher in 2006 than in 2005. This represents a 5.2 percent increase on 2005 levels and 165 percent increase on the 1990 transport emissions. Road transport accounts for 97 percent of the transport sector emissions. The increase in the GHG emissions from the transport sector reflects sustained increases in fuel consumption with petrol usage up 3.4 percent and diesel consumption up 7.9 percent from the previous year. Changes in Emissions from Sectors between 2005 and 2006
Notable changes in 2006 compared to 2005 are:
Transport emissions increased by 5.2 percent from 13.037 Mt CO2eq in 2005 to 13.719 Mt CO2eq in 2006. This follows an increase of approximately 6.2 percent in the previous year. Road transport accounts for 97 percent of transport emissions and is the main contributor to the increase in the national total; Kyoto Protocol
Ireland’s target in relation to the Kyoto Protocol is to limit emissions to 13 percent above the baseline estimate in the period 2008-2012. Based on the latest inventory figures, Ireland’s emissions in 2006 were 25.5 percent higher than the baseline estimate that underlies Ireland’s allowable emissions for the period 2008-2012, as agreed in the peer review of Ireland’s 2006 submission to the UNFCCC. This brings us to the issue of carbon credits – Currently Ireland can but these purchase these at the going rate of €23.10 per tonne. The European Commission proposes to limit the capacity of rich countries to do this and it is quite possible that heavier fines could become the norm. Transport therefore is extremely important in terms of returning to the levels defined by the agreement and in making dramatic steps forward in reducing the overall CO2 emissions levels. Whatever happens it is clear that the car as a means of urban transport is not the solution. That is not to say that the car does not have a place because it does, as a means of transporting people and goods, outside an urban center, the car is a particularly efficient tool, offering flexibility that will be hard to replace. However in an urban environment, there needs to be a dramatic shift to public transport and encouragement of alternative forms of private transport that are small, easily implemented and very efficient. Here is where the Segway has its part to play. Below is a map of Dublin, highlighting the distances relative to the city center. The majority of the M50 is withing 40 minutes Segway Glide time to O'Connell bridge and would cost approx € 0.05 for a one way trip in electricty. How does the Segway offer a benefit in an emissions context? The Segway is completely electric, therefore it emits no pollution while in use. That is to say that it makes virtually no noise and no pollutants are emitted directly from the machine. The unit is also designed in accordance with the RoHs directive in terms of materials used in its construction. Structural materials used are Aluminium and the batteries are recyclable. The Segway itself has zero emissions while being used. The Segway does require electricity to charge and here is where the pollution may be factored in if required. However as in the case of cars the CO2 emissions from Well to Pump is not used and therefore for the purpose of the calculation below, the same rules have been applied. Should you wish to factor in these emissions the figures are outlined below. -
A full charge requires 1 Unit (1kWh). -
ESB, the CO2 emissions to produce 1kWh is 549g. -
Airtricity using 89% renewables 1kWh produces 60.3g -
The Segway has a maximum rage of 38km on a single charge. -
ESB charge – 14.5g/km -
Airtricity charge – 1.6g/km -
Cost of a full charge approx 15c -
Equivalent of 300km per litre of petrol / diesel (€1.20 l) 1,000,000 people use cars to commute to work everyday in Ireland – Table 84, Vol 12, 2006 Census. “Workers travelled on average 15.8 km from their homes to their workplaces in 2006, little change on 2002. Rural based workers travelled an average of 20.9 km compared with 12.8 km for workers living in urban areas.” – source CSO Press Release on Vol 12. Lets say 50% (56% nationally have access to a car and live within 9 km of employment) live in Urban areas and commute the 12.8km to work. These are the numbers based on the facts above:
Kilometres driven to and back from work per day 12,800,000 kms
Small Car emissions – 150g/km 1,920,000 kg CO2
Covert this daily amount to metrics tons 1,920 ton CO2
Average person works 5 days, 45 weeks 432,000 ton CO2 If 10% of these urban kms were completed on a Segway PT or any non emmittting tranport option – what would be the difference? THIS WOULD PRODUCE AN ANNUAL SAVING OF = 43,200 Ton CO2
or
Based on the Kyoto Protocols monetary penalties € 997,920.00 per annum in fines Here is another extremely important question? How many other short journeys are made by car – excluding work that could be completed on a Segway? For example – a trip to the shops, the bank, the post office, etc.
These trips are when a car operates at its least efficient and has the highest emissions and merit serious consideration in the context of an overall environmental strategy. These short journeys locally are a huge factor in contributing to the general congestion and pollution in any urban environment. What about Oil Prices?
This is a live feed on the current price of oil at the time this page was accessed. If you move your mouse over the bottom of the graph you can see the data for the last month, quarter, year or five years. |
