ALASKA Tour to offer chance to scoot around cities

The company plans to use Segway scooters for transportation.
ANCHORAGE (AP) -- A tour company says it will sell people the chance to glide through Alaska next year in futuristic style on motor scooters known as "Human Transporters."
"You feel like George Jetson," said Bob Dindinger, president of Alaska Travel Adventures.
The scooters, which have two large wheels and a small platform, are made by the New Hampshire-based Segway LLC. Dindinger said he likes the scooters so much, he often rides one to work at his company's offices in Juneau and Redmond, Wash.
He plans to launch Segway scooter tours, rentals or both in Anchorage, Talkeetna, Ketchikan, Sitka, Wrangell and Skagway.
How it works
Segway riders stand and grip handlebars. The device self-balances through the tilt sensor and gyroscopes in its computer brain.
When a rider leans slightly forward, it goes faster. It slows to a halt when the rider leans back.
The motor scooters can be set to go as fast as 12.5 mph. But Alaska Travel Adventures executive Gary Odle said the company's tours would be limited to 3 mph to avoid problems with pedestrians.
Alaska Travel Adventures would likely not offer Segway tours of downtown Anchorage, Dindinger said, but would take clients on a tour that focuses on natural history, he said.
Routes for its planned tours in the other cities have also not been set.
Odle said Juneau is not on the list, at least to start with, because its downtown streets are too full of tourists and other people in the summer.
The Segway tours will be done in small groups, each with a guide. Tour participants will wear helmets for protection.
Each helmet will have a built-in two-way radio to let the guide provide commentary.
Dindinger said he got the idea when he came across a Segway rental shop in Spokane, Wash
"I was just blown away by the interest and the demand," he said.
Problem in Anchorage
The company may also hit a brick wall in Anchorage, where the local police department says it thinks the scooters are not legal on public streets under a local ordinance.
The tour promoters disagree, citing a state law that does permit use of electric scooters around the state.
Alaska Travel Adventures can be reached at (800) 791-2673 or www.alaskarv.com for more information.