Touring the D.C. area before graduation may be a “G-town college experience,” but when it comes down to it, remarkably few students actually want to take the time to cross that off their list. One way or the other, apathy seems to lie at the heart of this problem. Luckily, a solution seems to be at hand.
“Be prepared to become a tourist attraction in and of yourself,” warns David Mebane, owner of City Segway Tours.
The company allows tourists to zip up and down the mall step on a Segway HT, a futuristic, balance-driven motor scooter. Twenty-five travelers riding through the streets of Washington, DC on standing platforms is enough to turn heads, even on the Hill.
Riding one of these hip two-wheelers is the best part of the experience. You stand on a platform, make sure you hold onto the handle bars, and lean into the turns-the Segway does the rest. If that isn’t simple enough, each tour begins with a 30-minute orientation session which allow travelers to practice on the Segways until everyone feels comfortable. The novelty of learning how to operate the Segway HT is in many ways the main attraction.
The $3,000-plus HTs have made a successful debut among older folks, and could well find a receptive audience among lazy college students. The Segway HT is not exclusive to the district. The HT tour has become popular in New Orleans, Disney World in Orlando, Fl., Chicago and even Nice on the French Riviera.
In D.C. an HT tour can help travelers get closer to the sights than a bus would, while sparing the fatigue of walking. In addition, each person is equipped with earpieces so they can hear information about each national landmark on the tour. All one has to do is have the motivation to book the tour and drag themselves out of bed.
The four-hour tours include a viewing and brief rundown of each monument in the D.C.-area. Highlights include the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean Memorials, the Washington Monument, Smithsonian Museums and the World War II Memorial.
The glaring negative of City Segway Tours is the bright-red, dorky helmets that tourists have to wear as a safety precaution. Also, the Segway speed is locked through a system of colored keys, which puts a damper on the fun. The red key locks the speed at less than 12.5 miles per hour, and the black key, used in pedestrian-congested areas, limits the Segway HT to only six mph. While running into pedestrians may seem fun, you may have trouble catching up to them on a Segway tour.
If you’re going to tour the monuments, why bother with walking? It might as well be done with as little effort, knowledge and planning as possible. In other words, do it the Segway way.
Tours cost $65 per person. The Washington D.C. tour season is available from March 1 until Nov. 30. City Segway Tours offers two tours each day, at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m. Book a City Segway Tour in advance, either by going to the website at www.citysegwaytours.com or by calling 877-SEG-TOUR.
