Nice gesture for Mayor Bloomberg to ride the Jerusalem No. 2 bus in solidarity with the victims of the latest suicide bombing, even if it does mean a little foreign policy grandstanding that takes him from his real job.

I have to ask: why does anybody in Israel still ride the bus? I mean, I'm being serious and not critical of the Israelis, who presumably know what they are doing with regard to terrorists; there must be good reasons why, given the fact that suicide bombers have relentlessly targeted buses. I assume part of the problem is a lack of car ownership and the need to navigate narrows streets that aren't well suited to heavy traffic.

Hey, maybe this is the elusive market for the Segway: you can't sneak a suicide bomber onto a Segway, after all.

UPDATE: Yeah, I know the Segway is pretty useless for anything beyond a few blocks because it's so slow. Still, this is the kind of outside-the-box transit solution that may have to be considered to make commuters and tourists in Israel less vulnerable (Low Occupancy Vehicle lanes?)