Segway Tours Get Rolling with City's Backing

A new business on Derby Street is providing Segway tours throughout the City, the first such business operating under an ordinance approved by the City Council last fall.

, at 283R Derby Street behind , conducts four tours a day with up to eight Segways at once driving single-file on City sidewalks.

The tours are along an approved route along Derby Street and around , visiting historic sites along the way.

Business owners Jeff Langone and Brad Biscornet lead the tours after a 10-minute training session to show riders how to operate the Segway.

"We haven't had any problems with pedestrians, knock on wood," Langone said Tuesday.

City Councilor Joseph O'Keefe said the Council looked at a law passed in California for the regulation of Segways for creating the City's own ordinance.

"We're one of the few places in the country that regulates these," O'Keefe said.

The City ordinance identifies Segways as "electronic personal assistance mobility devices," according to City Clerk Cheryl LaPointe.

So far, only Witch City Segway has received a license from the City to operate Segway tours under the ordinance, LaPointe said.

But another Segway company, Boston Gliders Segway Adventures, has begun marketing Segway tours in Salem beginning May 15.

According to a Segway tour scheduling "hotline" number published on the company's website, the company will offer Segway tours via the .

"Our new Salem location will be open May 15," a recording says at the hotline number for Boston Gliders. "A quick ferry ride will deliver you to Salem."

Biscornet said he isn't worried about the competition from the other Segway tour company, which also offers tours in Boston, Cambridge and Florida, according to its website.

"We have the best deal," he said.