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that Jalopnik had designed for Wes!

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Apparently 80% of the commenters missing the point that this is an engineering mule. The real version will have bodywork and an interior.

The biggest problem that I see (and this is what killed the OG Segway) is how to incorporate this to regular traffic.

The whole "special access lane" would require the presence of thousands of users and complicated agreements between municipalities and the company. Good luck getting that implemented on a scale that'd make it useful.

Short of that, you're going to have a hard time convincing someone to get in that little box and share lanes with 80,000lb busses.

Ambitious, but doomed to go back to misc. micro-vehicle territory along with the Segway and all those little electric carts tooling about university campuses.

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I'm sure that it had sprightly performance - like most EVs make all of their torque available at 0 rpm. The finished piece will probably be substantially heavier, and more sluggish. Likely not so elemental either, as focus groups will find desires for nice features and surfaces from the purchasing public.

I wonder how car/bike thieves will be deterred here?

But please, don't believe the Personal Rapid Transit story without doing a little digging. Just how will you join up to one of the 'trains'? When the 'train' gets in an accident, what is your liability? Where will the land for these dedicated, uninterrupted magic lanes going to come from? Whose land will be taken, and what becomes of intersecting roads and rail?

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