Segway offers visitors a new way to explore the Phoenix Park.
The Segway a personal mode of transport is the latest technology being used to get around the Phoenix Park in Dublin.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, this is a segway.
Pat Liddy usually offers guided walks of the Phoenix Park but from next March the tours will take place on a Segway.
It makes the Phoenix Park, where we are today, extremely accessible for tourists.
The Segway works on self-balancing technology, when you lean forward, it moves forward and when you lean backwards, it stops. Using an electrically charged battery, the device can get up to 20 miles per hour. Segways are very energy efficient taking eight hours to charge and if done overnight, it costs just 15 cent to power up.
Tourist, Deirdre Lanzilloti says the Segway is great fun and offers a new way to see things.
Under the current Road Traffic Act, Segways are illegal on public roads in Ireland. Martin Butler of segway.ie wants the government to address the regulation around their use as has been done in other countries. The Department of Transport say that the legal status of the Segway is under review. In the meantime, the Office of Public Works has given a special concession to offer Segway tours in the Phoenix Park.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 September 2008. The reporter is Samantha Libreri.
