THE future of economical, environmentally-friendly transport will be determined by people with the brightest ideas. Segway has come up with one efficient solution. Jimmy Yarwood reports.

"We've managed to get you a test on a … Segway". "A what-way?" I answered. "You know – the ultra-green, two-wheeled, battery-operated thingy that you stand up on and get propelled along without any fuss or effort."

So I found myself down in Ashford at the local importers talking to Nick Thurston of Southern Segway, a jovial fellow who talked me through the do’s and don’t’s of "riding" one of the strange crafts.

Powered by two underslung batteries, feeding two electric motors one in each wheel, the Segway has two 19 inch wheels separated by a platform which the rider stands on.

In front is a T-bar with hand-grips either side. Underneath the rubber matting on the platform is a host of sensors and gyros that immediately sense if someone is waiting to move off.

Depending whether you lean forward or tilt back the Segway moves in that direction; to steer you merely tilt the handlebar left or right and it’s perfectly able to turn on its own axis, spookily and silently.

It only takes a few minutes to get to grips with the idiosyncrasies of this 21st century mode of transport.

There are two settings, one giving the machine a top speed of about 4mph, while the boy racers will want the restrictor turned off to give a top speed of 12mph – when you’re buzzing silently along on a two-wheeled platform you get a sense of speed.

An overnight charge of electricity gives around 24 miles of riding, that’s something equivalent to more than 1,000mpg.

The Government can’t make up its mind up on how to classify the Segway. Technically it's illegal to use it on public paths and roads but there is a petition to make it legal and with the big green push Ministers can’t look the other way.