Have you check out our latest electric scooter? It weighs a solid 18kg and can travel up to 25km/h with latency. It comes in black and gold to give you a stylish ride. Hurry up! Find out more cool features in the video, or read the transcript below.
Transcript
Female: Experts call it connectivity for the first and last mile, it’s the distance to and from mass transport facilities like bus stops and train stations in your daily commute, so of course you would walk it or maybe use a bicycle
Male: But a growing number of city dwellers especially in this part of the world attending to electrical innovations to bridge that distance of the road and pavement uses as well as governments have reacted differently to these innovations.
Female: Cruise control samples some of the latest personal mobility devices on the market to discover the pros and the cons.
Speaker: Hoverboards, electric unicycles and electric scooters, collectively known as personal mobility devices or personal electric vehicle. Just how viable are these devices in connecting you to the public transport network, can they be that electric bridge between the first and the last mile?
Prof: “We are in the tropical zones and that we have some very hot, humid and then sometimes it can be very wet weather and all these could deter people from walking, so under this kind of situation how are we going to respond or to address this first mile last mile issue. In recent years, we’ve been seeing that more and more people start using all kinds of the personal mobility device. I tend to believe it’s because those personal mobility devices can really bring them the convenience.
Voiceover: Many governments though have had mixed reactions for these devices. Territories like Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have banned them. Other territories like Taiwan, China, South Korea and soon Singapore are allowing them with regulation.
Prof: It also has something to do with how the city is making use of the main resources. And then in Singapore, to a certain extent, our land use pattern is very segregated, so you would need to rely on transportation service for you to fulfil your needs of the commercial activities, so maybe this is also the reason why people in Singapore, we are very eager in assuring himself they have a personal mobility device or something equivalent.
Voiceover: But this Mobot Surf Plus weighs in at a mammoth 18 kilograms.
Reporter: It does fold up though but can you imagine carrying up the train?
Voiceover: It could travel for up to 40 kilometers on a single three hour charge. With over 20 brands of scooters on the market, this one is fairly uncommon as it has a fold-up seat with a big wheel base and wheel diameter. It’s ideal for going on pavements.
Reporter: I may feel like i’m going very fast but i’m actually going at just about 15 kilometers an hour which is the recommended speed for electric personal mobility devices here in Singapore.
Voiceover: Experts also advised following proper etiquette for riding these devices. Each personal mobility device has its strengths and weaknesses, but if you do decide to get one, pick one that will suit what you want to do with it. Take all precautions and be familiar with your device and before you head out, now remember too that you are a guest on the pedestrian pavement so be civil, keep an eyes on the pavement and stay safe.
Female: The other day I saw Jeff on that hoverboard just whizzing around here and I was thinking, what are you doing here, he was working.
Male: Yeah i was wondering the same thing as well. I’m not sure about the hoverboard and unicycle not so The scooter not so frightening.
Female: I’m gonna lose my legs. I think i will just use my legs and we’ll all walk.
Male: Oh, you should have bought it from them, or you rather walk? It’s good exercise anyway.
Female: That was Geoffrey Lip on Cruise Control taking the latest personal mobility devices out for a spin. Jeff will be back on the road next week in something far far larger so do stay tuned to find out more.
Male: And you can also follow Geof on twitter at GeoffreyLipCNA
