When Rachel Bunton decided on a gift for her husband’s 40th birthday last spring, she had no inkling the present would prompt them to create a business: SegValley Tours.  Brian and Rachel Bunton’s experience with a Segway tour of San Antonio changed their life.

“It was love at first ride. The whole drive home we were talking about different places they would be fun to take. There’s nothing like it in the Valley,” she said. “We have beautiful weather, the beach and great places to go.  We realized we could make a business out of this.”  The Buntons took a second Segway tour which confirmed their initial response.  “It was more fun than we thought possible.”

Researching existing operations, the couple found that Segway tours have become popular in big cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Houston.  The Segway X2 is powered by rechargeable electric motors and relies on a computer system and sensors to keep the machine upright and move in response to the rider’s body language.  It has no separate brake or accelerator. It has large, off-road tires, offering more stability than the Segways seen locally inside malls and airport terminals.  Their maximum speed is approximately 12 miles per hour. The target market is adults, but people of any age with a sense of adventure sign up for the tours.

Last October, the Buntons underwent Segway training, established SegValley Tours and a Segway dealership.  Brian Bunton represents the third generation of the family business, Bill Bunton Auto Supply & Machine in Mercedes.  As of 2014, he took over the reins of the company which was established in the 1930s.  To keep overhead manageable, the Segway dealership is housed inside the auto supply. The tour company itself is mobile, bringing the fleet of seven Segways to tour sites across the Valley: Mission’s butterfly park to South Padre Island beaches.  Because many attractions in the Valley maintain a low profile, not advertising to attract the local market, Bunton planned to introduce people to new places right in their back yards.

“Almost everybody has some reservations about using Segways, because they are two-wheeled, which usually takes extra balancing skills. But the Segway is self-balancing. All you have to do is get on and ride it,” Bunton explained.  “People think they will fall over, but it has the same technology and gyroscopes as airplanes. The sole purpose of the computer board and technology built into the Segway is to take to you places.” The device was designed originally for disabled people, and its inventor also created the wheelchair that climbs stairs.

Besides being fun, SegValley Tours provide greater access and mobility, getting people to places they could not or would not have visited otherwise, Bunton said.  The tours she conducts at the North American Butterfly park in Mission are a perfect example since the tours go on trails most visitors can’t access.  “A lot of the people on the tours have never been there before.  You’re mobile and changing scenery, enjoying nature as whole.”  The guide herself is enjoying learning more about butterflies to help  people know what they observe.

For more on this story by Eileen Mattei, visit the “Current & Past Issues” or pick up a February 2014 copy of Valley Business Report.