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Coronavirus Customer Information

Philly by Segway
Health and Safety Guidelines
May 2021 - Summary

This is a brief document to outline requirements, advice and best practices for the Philly by Segway business in a way that minimizes risks for all stakeholders, builds trust with customers and manages ongoing health concerns in the most prudent way. The aim is to create guidelines that are easy to communicate to customers while allowing for flexible implementation in this dynamic COVID-19 situation. The safety of the team, customers, guides, vendors and the wider local community remains our main priority and any return to operations will be done in a safe and responsible way.

This document will be revised and re-dated from time to time as our guidelines change. If you are planning to travel in the coming weeks, you’ll likely have some questions about the impact COVID-19 may have on your plans.

We are open and all our tours are running! Our staff is healthy and most Philadelphians are going about their daily lives as normal. Thus, if you are still planning to visit us, you’re most welcome and we look forward to hosting you on your Best. Day. Ever.

We want you to know that we are working with our team and the places we visit to ensure the safety of all of our customers and staff. Some measures we are taking:
1. We require masks indoors at our facility, unless you have a valid vaccination card, in which case you can be unmasked.
2. Masks are not required on tour.
3. Hand sanitizer and cleansing wipes are available at our facility.
4. We are sanitizing all of our Segways and all equipment thoroughly each day and after every tour.
5. We remain committed to small groups, which makes us unique among travel companies; most of the health advisories are about large gatherings, which is not how we operate.
6. Our tours do not make any scheduled stops to businesses, further minimizing interpersonal contact. Our 2-hour tour does have a stop to stretch your legs, but we are able to adjust that to stop in a park or other similar location, rather than going into a cafe or other business.

We understand that despite all of our efforts, you may need to change your travel plans. We want to work with you in the event you must modify your reservation due to COVID-19. If you need to cancel or reschedule, even up to 2 hours prior to your tour we will be happy to accommodate you, even including a full refund of the amount you have paid. Unfortunately, due to high demand, after that time we will not be able to do either so please work with us and call prior to that.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us via [email protected] or you can call us at (215) 523-5827 with any questions you may have.

Local Resources

For the most up-to-date information about Philadelphia and COVID-19, please visit the following website: https://www.phila.gov/services/mental-physical-health/environmental-health-hazards/covid-19/

For information about COVID-19 in the United States, please visit the website for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov

Health and Safety

Government Guidelines

  • The safety of the team, customers, guides, vendors and the wider local community remains our main priority and any return to operations will be done in a safe and responsible way. As such, our actions must follow the guidelines of the relevant authorities. Any breach of published regulations will be a serious matter.

Vendors

Health and Safety

  • All vendors on a tour are consulted regularly to discuss any operational changes (reduced hours, days etc) and discuss their own Health and Safety procedures and physical distancing protocols to protect our and their customers.

Bathrooms

  • Guides will direct customers to use our own bathroom at the beginning of the tour because of the shortage of bathroom options on tour.

Cheesesteak Locations

  • Philly by Segway management will ensure that any location used adheres to strict cleanliness standards .
  • Philly by Segway guides will carry sanitizer or sanitary wipes in order to wipe down any surface used and for use by customers.
  • We will follow local regulations on table spacing and guest seating in restaurants. Wherever possible, groups should try to ensure that they are sitting at their own table without strangers in restaurants.
  • Payment methods should be contactless.

Philly by Segway Premises and Equipment

Equipment

  • All Segway and ancillary equipment will be thoroughly cleaned between tours and all high touch surfaces in shared areas should be regularly cleaned and disinfected.
  • It is our preference for customers to bring their own helmets. For customers without helmets, our helmets will be sanitized immediately after use. We will also have head caps available for any customer requiring additional protection.
  • Hand sanitizer will be made available.

Premises

  • All surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis and in between customer use.
  • Bathroom surfaces will be cleaned every half day and the bathroom fixtures will be cleaned regularly.
  • A sign will be placed on the entrance door referring to our Health & Safety guidelines which shall be made available upon request.
  • A sign will be placed on the entrance door to explain pre-tour registration and training procedures.

Pre-Tour Registration & Training

  • Customers entering must wear a mask unless they can show a valid vaccination card.
  • Philly by Segway staff will not wear a mask as they have now all been vaccinated.
  • Our waiver has been updated allowing that customers may review the safety video before they arrive for their tour.
  • Waivers will be provided to all customers online prior to the tour.

The Tour

  • Masks are not required on tour, but customers may do so if they wish.

PPE (Masks, Face Coverings)

  • We will always follow up-to-date advice from the local health authorities.
  • We will ask customers to bring a helmet to the tour.
  • The guide will advise the group of the advice from the local health authorities during the health and safety briefing at the start of the tour.
  • Guides and guests may wear masks, this is based on their own preferences.

Group Size

  • No change to current 8-person maximum, but the Manager may use their discretion to cap a tour if there are more than two or three independent groups.
  • We will comply with local government restrictions on gatherings.

Cleaning

  • Guides will be equipped with necessary cleaning materials (hand washing and sanitizer, equipment for cleaning where needed) for use on-tour for themselves and for guests.
  • Protocols for any equipment used during the tour will be documented and shared with guides.

Staff Training

  • All staff must be trained, or re-trained, on the following areas before operating a tour
  • COVID-19 Incident Management Process (below).
  • Reporting incidents in the incident management log.
  • Familiarity with the location of hospitals for the itinerary of each tour as a part of a contingency plan.
  • Delivering a safety briefing at the start of the tour.
  • All relevant information shared here.

Tour Safety Briefing
Each tour will start with a safety briefing that covers all of the necessary information for customers, including information such as:

  • Latest local health authority advice on mask usage and social distancing.
  • Asking customers if they’ve had any symptoms in the last 14 days
  • Reminders about hand washing, sanitization etc.

Data Collection

  • Contact Tracing – It is important to collect customer details at the start of the tour for contact tracing purposes only – if we are informed of possible exposure, this will allow us to inform our customer. We should take this information in a contactless way if we don’t already have it online. This information will not be used for marketing purposes.
  • Delivery of Photos at End of Tour – Photos taken of the group by the guide, will be air dropped or e-mailed to the guest at the end of the tour. These photos will also be retained on our internal Drive for e-mailing where necessary.

Social Distancing

  • We will follow social distancing guidelines from local health authorities at all times.

Product

  • Design – Routes will be tweaked where possible to avoid crowds.
  • Guide flexibility – Guides should be given authority to decide on the tour if the itinerary needs to be adjusted for health and safety purposes. For instance, if guides experience unexpected crowding at a location they should take a detour.

Guide Showing Symptoms

  • If a guide is showing consistent symptoms, they will be removed from scheduling for 10 days.
  • If a guide has to cancel a scheduled tour within 7 days of such tour, because they are showing symptoms, the guide will be paid as normal. This protects customers and the local community by removing the incentive for a guide to show up to work while potentially positive for COVID-19.

Customer Showing Symptoms
Prior to the tour, if a customer is showing any symptoms of COVID-19, the guide should ask the customer not to ride, and a full refund will be provided.

Incident Management Procedures
In the event that a guide believes that a customer is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, the guide will complete an Incident Report in the form attached and provide the names and contact details of all other people on tour. The guide will ask customer to counter sign unless the customer won’t do this in which case the guide will not push the idea. All Incident Reports should be signed by the manager on duty and be scanned into our Google Drive and attached for review by the owner.

Monitoring
We will be monitoring feedback from customers to ensure they feel safe and that we are mitigating risk whilst operating departures. This is not to catch anybody out – if a customer flags something on a tour, we will work with guides to see how we can improve the experience for customers. If a customer does complain and it is apparent that a serious health and safety breach has occurred, that customer will be entitled to a refund to prevent further issues.

Communicating Health and Safety
Customers taking tours will understandably be concerned with health and safety on tours as the world reopens with COVID-19 still a threat. There are a number of ways in which we can mitigate their health and safety risks (outlined above) and inspire confidence in customers by communicating these with them.

Philly by Segway will create a webpage to share these Health and Safety Procedures. For questions about specific tours, they’ will be directed to the usual local contact information.

For all members of our community (customers, vendors, local community, guides, managers), we will publish an email address ([email protected]) that will escalate a concern immediately to management.

Booking Conditions
One of the key questions customers will be asking post-COVID is “what happens if I need to cancel the tour?” Brands that offer the most customer flexibility will be the ones that customers trust the most and win their bookings.

  • We implemented an industry-leading flexible cancellation policy in the event they believe they are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, that allows customers to book with confidence and protects our community.
    • Daily join-in tours: Cancel up to 2 hours before the tour to receive a full refund. Ask the customer if they’re able to reschedule or accept a travel credit.
    • Custom and Private Tours
      • Outside of 48 hours, we will issue a full refund.
      • Inside of 48 hours, we will issue a credit minus unrecoverable costs.
    • For cancellations by Philly by Segway (e.g. due to government orders), the customer will receive a full refund for whichever tour they have booked.
  • By allowing customers to cancel up until 2 hours before the tour departs, it removes all incentives to turn up to a tour when showing symptoms, protecting other customers, our guides, and our local community.
  • We will review all of these booking conditions regularly.
  • This may mean that both Philly by Segway issue occasional last-minute refunds that we wouldn’t usually issue. However, we believe that this policy will make our community safer and increase bookings.

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