Segway people movers are still a rarity in Yerevan streets
In a city not yet bicycle friendly and where crossing streets remains hazardous duty, the Segway people mover is alien to Yerevan in concept as much as in its rare presence. Yet, like nearly every other Western fad or fashion that eventually turns up here, the Segway – a stand-up scooter that looks like an old fashioned lawnmower turned backward – has rolled into Armenia.
Last spring a Segway distributorship opened on Saryan Street in the capital, and soon strollers on the major boulevards of the city center were being dodged by upright rollers that drew stares befitting apparition.
Nine months later the Segway is more anomaly than trend, due mainly to the prohibition that they cost as much or more than mid-level cars here – from $10,000-12,000.
Still, dealer Tigran Galstyan has found a minor market – among Armenia’s many well-to-do with money for frivolity.
“A few years ago when the Georgian seaside became the attractive place for Armenians to spend their summer holidays, I was there and noticed that mainly Armenians use (rent) Segways there. So my friends and I thought that Segways should be imported to Armenia and it can become a profitable business,” Galstyan says.
Galstyan imported 30 of the electric-powered two-wheelers and has sold seven.
Some have been bought by resorts in Tsaghkadzor, Jermuk and Sevan, where – like at the Black Sea coast – they are a holiday indulgence for vacationers.
According to Galsytan, one businessman bought a Segway so that his 63-year old father can use it to scoot around their 73-hectare estate.
Arman Harutyunyan, 21, uses a Segway while moving from one place to another during his working hours. Harutyunyan says he does not pay for the rent, since Galstyan is his relative and provide Segway free of charge. He says he is already used to meeting people who approach him and ask what a Segway is, how much it costs, how it should be driven.
“Once an old woman approached and asked about it. We talked, and at the end she even stood on the Segway drove it easily,” Harutyunyan tells.
Most of the modest Segway business is in rentals. And that, too, is a pricey pleasure; 15 minutes cost about $8 – an hour, about $27. It’s not surprising, then, that there are days when they are not rented at all, or only one or two are rented. (The Segway can be rented from Galstyan’s office located at 28 Moskovyan street)
Galstyan does not deny that Segway is an expensive novelty, reserved for the rich. He aspires, though to see Armenia become a nation of Segway commuters.
“I remember the first time I took a Segway and drove from Victory Park to the center of the city. People were stopping their cars and staring at me, many were asking for the price. Finding out the cost, they were advising me to buy a car instead. However, this cannot be compared with a car, since it is more economical to drive a Segway,” the dealer says.
In some countries, Segways have become the mobility of choice for messengers, for mailmen, and even for neighborhood police.
Two police officers watching a Segway exhibiting its benefits down Northern Avenue recently were asked whether they’d rather roll than walk their beat.
“We don’t think this is suitable for our city’s traffic,” said Yerevan’s finest.
A new model of Segway designed for two and produced by General Motors, is planned to be imported to Armenia. It will cost $30,000.
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