Compare this to a simple foldable electric scooter. It allows you get to places much faster, and has similar attributes in terms of things you do outside of commuting, is way cheaper and more reliable.
For the hyper-optimization of walking in crowded places at a slightly elevated pace, you basically have to convince someone that spending x amount of money instead of leaving x minutes earlier is worth it, and that x has to be in the range of play money for an average person, because the latter is free.
In general, if you are pushing a product that isn't relying on lifestyle marketing, or isn't radical new technology, the product needs to be an optimization on something existing, and when considering what it optimizes, you need to look at an entire picture, not just the particular item.
I'm pretty sure people made the same argument about electric scooters when they first came out. People will buy these just for fun the same way they buy all the other silly modes of transport. Honestly I think these look way more fun than say rollerblades for example. I don't think everyone is going to use them but they will for sure have a market. No sense in being cranky about a cool product just because it doesn't suit your taste or wallet.
I could easily enter public transport with these, that’s not always the case with scooters where I live. Scooters are also quite heavy and can hit things while carrying them around. I don‘t consider scooters suitable for my commute, and they haven’t really gotten the adoption from commuters they should have if they were that good.
Are the spaces tight enough around you where the scooter is inconvenient? I didn't expect e-scooters to become as popular as they did where I live but they've taken the area by storm, and it seems especially strong among the crowd that still commutes.
I see people bring scooters on the train. The issue is people have these huge hulking scooters that they refuse to fold up (not the kind bird uses these things look like they are 50 lbs), so they are standing there holding the handles while 3ish feet of scooter is sitting behind them taking up valuable floor space on the train. Plus it only works with a few people on board, if the entire train of people each had a scooter we'd have to redesign our stations to be way longer to fit the longer trains needed to accomodate all the wasted space. Bikes are the same way on the train honestly: great if you are the only one with a bike, clumsy if you aren't.
My skateboard on the other hand, I just stick it in between my legs and its like its not there.
Scooters are hard to balance with. I love my e-scooter. My partner has a bad sense of balance and she's fallen off her e-scooter and hurt herself (nothing bad, just bruises and cuts) before. She prefers to ride the bike. According to the video anyway, this looks like it's a lot easier to balance with. Scooters are also heavy. Most men have enough upper body strength to lift scooters, but a lot of others don't. My partner has a hard time lifting up the e-scooter above certain heights.
If they won't let you use a manual scooter I doubt they'd let you use these. The issue is probably that someone would suddenly round a corner and you'd tackle them going at running speed.
Compare this to a simple foldable electric scooter. It allows you get to places much faster, and has similar attributes in terms of things you do outside of commuting, is way cheaper and more reliable.
For the hyper-optimization of walking in crowded places at a slightly elevated pace, you basically have to convince someone that spending x amount of money instead of leaving x minutes earlier is worth it, and that x has to be in the range of play money for an average person, because the latter is free.
In general, if you are pushing a product that isn't relying on lifestyle marketing, or isn't radical new technology, the product needs to be an optimization on something existing, and when considering what it optimizes, you need to look at an entire picture, not just the particular item.