1 The city of Seatle, USA, has a bi

1 The city of Seatle, USA, has a big problem. The government owns over 3,000 vehicles, such as cars, trucks and motorbikes. It buys 150 new vehicles each year. It has to buy 9.1 million litres of petrol every year just to run them! This is expensive and causes a lot of pollution. One answer to these problems is the Segway, an electric scooter. The government bought ten Segway and gave them to police officers, postman, and other workers to try.
2 The Segway was invented by Dean Kamen. It is a little under a metre tall and weighs 31 kilograms. It has two wheels, just like other scooters. But the Segway’s wheels are not at the front and the back-they are at the sides! It has an electric motor, and can go as fast as 20 kilometres an hour. It is also very difficult for a rider to fall off a Segway because the motor is heavy, and close to the ground. Dean thinks the Segway will become very popular. He hopes it will one day replace cars in big cities.
3 After six months, the government of Seattle found that the Segways were much cleaner and cheaper than their other vehicles. They only cost around $5,000 to buy. Because they don’t use petrol, they cost only $3 a year to run and don’t cause any pollution. Not there are lots of Segways in Seattle. Because of the advantages of the Segway, the government decided to buy eighty more!
4 Perhaps one day everyone will have a Segway!