Segway of Indiana

Segway Today interviewed Chris Moyer, owner of Segway of Indiana, in November 2007.

We understand you spent 16 years as a retail broker for Morgan Stanley before switching careers and opening up Segway of Indiana. What inspired you to do that?

I love the technology. I think it’s time for something like this. I’m trying to champion that cause in Indiana. Being a retail securities broker is a treadmill. There’s no rest for the weary. I was ready to make the change. I love the Segway technology. I believe it its abilities to make a difference in people’s lives, so I made the jump.

How long has Segway of Indiana been open?

We opened the doors in June 2005 and we’re doing pretty well. It’s interesting. Not every day is a great day, but that’s a part of being a small business owner.

What part of Indianapolis are you located in?

I’m in the Broad Ripple district of Indianapolis, so I’m in Midtown. I’m up at 65th Street, which is in the middle of a nice part of Indianapolis.

Would you tell us a little bit about the tours you offer?

We started the tour

s this year at White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis. There’s a canal and a beautiful park, and it’s all just west of downtown. There are several memorials, such as the USS Indianapolis Memorial and the Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial, which has everyone who’s ever received a Congressional Medal of Honor named on a beautiful etched-glass memorial on the canal. That canal is about a three-mile run on a Segway. You glide down one side on 10th Street and then back. It’s just beautiful. It’s quiet and serene, and it’s really neat. So we started tours down there and it’s been very successful for us.

So who’s coming for your tour? Are they locals or are they visitors to the city?

Both, which is a fabulous thing. Indianapolis, though it’s a midwestern city, has a tremendous amount of conventions that come here. We have literature in the hotels, and we also have every person who’s ever been interested in trying a Segway call us. We have wonderful young people who are our Segway guides. We give them the information about the park, and they glide over to the back of the Indianapolis Zoo and go up the canal, and they talk about the different memorials and artwork in the area, and you know, it’s just great. People love the whole experience of being on a Segway. If you wa

nt to try one, tours give you the opportunity to experience a Segway for an hour or so. 

What’s the local reaction to Segways in Indianapolis?

I have customers who work and live in downtown who commute every single day on a Segway. I have other business people who have bought Segways and tell their staff to take the Segway and not drive their car. It’s been very good. We’re changing attitudes in every building and every person one at a time.

That seems to be the way you have to do it: one person at a time. What we seem to find is that it’s always the people who really don’t know anything about the Segway who are very vocal against it. If each one of those people would take a moment and get on one, those feelings would change, I believe.  

Right. The Central Indiana Community Foundation executive director bought a Segway; he’s using it and he’s got his staff using Segways to go to meetings in downtown instead of taking a car. So we’re doing the green thing. The green thing is a big deal. Quit burning the gas! Here in Indiana, it was $3.14 when I filled up the other day. We’re changing people’s attitudes and exposing more people to the technology. There are large buildings in downtown that were, at first, very, very concerned about a Segway coming into the building. So we go talk to them and do a

little education. The Segways don’t leave marks on the floor and they’re not much wider than a lot of people. So you’re not really taking up more space and you’re not going to run somebody over. So, it’s interesting. We’re changing attitudes.

How do you use the Segway in your personal life? Do you commute to work on a Segway?

I’m guilty in that I go to work by going downstairs. My shop is on my bottom floor and I have the upstairs. If I have to hop around and go to the bank and do things like that, then yes, I take the Segway. And people are surprised if I don’t. I ride right into the bank, go right in and up to the teller and they just smile and laugh and we chat and I leave. It doesn’t offend anybody after the second time. The first time, people step away and they’re all afraid. I had a guy say today, “those things actually work?” and I said, “you have no idea.” Then he said “you know, actually that’s really cool.” We’re educating people.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share?

I think it’s a good idea if everybody takes a hard look at a Segway for using it in their personal lives to help them get around and do all the things they already do. It’s not for your physical fitness. It’s just something to get you to the gym or down to the convenience mart, or to the grocery store. Let’s just change some attitudes.

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