Skateboard-Segway hybrid is latest Dutch transportation invention

The newest invention in Dutch transportation looks like a cross between a skateboard and a Segway. The Oxboard was released last week.  Simply put the Oxboard is a board with two wheels. You determine the direction by shifting your balance - lean forward and you go forward, lean back and you go back. The Oxboard can reach speeds of up to 15 kilometers per hour without any effort from the rider. And unlike a Segway, the Oxboard is small and lift-able. At only 800 euros a piece, the Oxboard is also cheaper than the Segway. "Starting this summer, the streets will change." Ernie Hiemstra, director of Oxbaord BV told Metro. Hiemstra hopes that soon everyone on the street will be riding a Oxboard - waitresses on terraces, children on their way to school, nurses in a hospital. Hiemstra is targeting a very broad audience, from the business market, such as airports, warehouses and hotels, to individuals - hip young people, business people and even children. "It is not a toy. But an Oxboard is both practical and fun. Similar to the iPad, not a toy, but often used by children." As the Oxboard is such a new means of transport there is no legislation for it yet. Someone riding an Oxboard is technically on a motorized vehicle and therefore not allowed on the sidewalk. "Purely legall it is not allowed, but it will be tolerated", Hiemstra said.