Has the Segway Found its Niche?

Once trumpeted with grandiose claims, the Segway was met with disappointing sales and became fodder for the satirical newspaper The Onion. Now, however, certain niche markets have adopted the two-wheeled vehicle enthusiastically. According to Slate.com:

"Part of the Segway's problem has been that, however impressive its technology, it was fulfilling an already-met need. There is nothing the Segway can do that that humble 19th-century technology, the bicycle, can't. [S]o instead of providing everyday transportation for the masses, the Segway has, for now, at least, been put to a number of niche uses. There is, for example, an accessory that turns the Segway into a golf cart;...Segways have also turned into a vehicle of choice for police, particularly in pedestrianized environments...there are malls, of course; mall security company IPC, for example, boasts a fleet of 90 Segways at 40 locations."