Personal Electrics Project (PEP)
Personal Electrics Project (PEP)
Q1: How to engage the population of a large metropolitan area by going "viral" in a large online community?
(Howz that for a million dollar question! 
Idea Description
Integrate tiny electric scooters into public transit.
Bicycles and transit, skateboards etc all serve to make life more convenient as a pedestrian.
The concept integrates ultra light weight motorized transport at human speeds with pedestrians and the bicycles in the move to get more urban Canadians out of four wheels and on two two wheels and using transit.
PEP is a process intended to introduce existing technology in a new way in urban travel, supported and more especially regulated by city public transit services.
The vehicle is intended as a weapon for pedestrians to use in the fight against the 20th-century automobile, pollution, traffic congestion... it's a long list.
What will you do if you win $10,000 for this idea?
We have an idea. A plan. A project. A deadline, Spring 2009. We are proof-of-concept now and should be pre-production this summer. We have backers and there is some government funding, so we are going ahead... The $10K might bring a little fame and glory I guess. :)
We are engaged in an effort to negotiate a social contract among the people in a city with several million souls...
We have chosen Facebook to do this, and have set up a Facebook Group to attract interest:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27002365231
If you are not on Facebook, a little PEP info here:
http://toronto.transitcamp.org/METRONAUTS1/Personal_Electrics_Project_(PEP)
Vote for it now.
In summary, offering city dwellers the choice of a 20th-century future, urban roads clogged with large, heavy and high speed vehicles, the injuries and deaths, pollution and waste, or a new century with the streets populated by tiny, light weight vehicles that operate at human speeds... the shift is happening now and PEP intends to help accelerate the trend. Priorities are pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit. Wish us luck.