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Posted on 07/18/2003 6:52:41 PM PDT by Willie Green
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OTTAWA (CP) - As Canada Post teeters on the brink of a nation-wide strike, the Crown corporation is experimenting with a new two-wheeled invention to boost productivity among letter carriers.
But the union representing workers at the post office says the idea will never catch on. John Fehr of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says postal managers are spinning their wheels if they think they can increase productivity or save money by using the Segway.
Canada Post received delivery of seven or eight Segway "human transport" vehicles this week, The Canadian Press has learned.
Spokesman John Caines refuses to talk about the agency's plans for the devices, which cost about $5,500 US each.
"They're here, I've seen them, I've been on one," Caines acknowledged. "But we're not prepared to discuss them yet."
Segway spokeswoman Carla Vallone is also tight-lipped about Canada Post's plans for the device.
"You'll need to talk to them about that," says Vallone. "As a private company we don't give out any sales (information)."
The Segway is advertised as the first self-balancing, electric-powered transportation device.
The high-tech device uses gyroscopes and tilt sensors to monitor - about 100 times a second - the rider's centre of gravity on a two-wheeled platform with handlebars.
The vehicle moves forward and backward as the driver leans forward and back.
Vallone said Canada Post could save money by using the Segway, which was unveiled in 2001, but only put on the market about six months ago.
"If you're doing a route on foot, many of those routes can create productivity savings, if you're using the Segway," she said.
"By utilizing the cargo bags, it's a significant amount of weight that a delivery person - especially a postal delivery person - could take off their backs and put into the bags."
The union is concerned about increased mail loads, Fehr said.
Bigger loads might not be a problem in summer. But the vehicles would be useless on winter sidewalks, he said, leaving mail carriers with the same heavy loads to carry on their backs.
"That'll never happen, because we're not about to do that," he said Friday.
"(Workload) is a central issue in this round of contract negotiations."
The ongoing contract talks between Canada Post and its unionized workers touch several issues, particularly job security and the volume of mail carriers must deliver.
The talks continued Friday after the union extended a midnight Thursday strike deadline to review a last-minute offer from management.
Caines said Canada Post must go through some regulatory hurdles before street-testing the Segway.
"Once they do all the safety stuff and go over it and have some consultations, then we'll be ready to put them on the street," he said.
So far, post office branches in Sainte-Jerome, Que., Montreal and Ottawa have been earmarked to test the vehicles, Transport Canada said.
The U.S. Postal Service has been actively testing Segways, using a fleet of about 40 units in nine cities, but has yet to put them into full service.
Under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Transport Canada is responsible for establishing safety standards for motorized vehicles used on public roads.
But because the Segway isn't motorized nor intended for use on the road, it doesn't fall under the federal department's jurisdiction.
That means provinces and municipalities must decide how - or whether - to regulate them.
South of the border, at least 40 states have classified the Segway as an 'electric personal assisted mobility device,' and have determined that they can be used on sidewalks.
"Each state's legislation differs slightly. All support the basic concept that the device should be allowed on the sidewalks," says Vallone.
They have also become popular with tour operators in the U.S. and parts of Europe.
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