Transportation device with reciprocating part and kinetic storage

A method of operating a transport vehicle adapted to transport a rider and having a weight supporting wheel, the weight supporting wheel being disposed to support at least part of and during at least part of the time, a summed weight of the rider and of the vehicle, where the transport vehicle further includes:

• (a) a rider support adapted to support at least part of the weight of the rider, the rider support being displaceable relative to the weight supporting wheel and/or the weight supporting wheel being displaceable relative to the rider support;
• and
• (b) an electric generator operatively coupled to be driven by at least one of a displacement of the weight supporting wheel relative to the rider support and a displacement of the rider support relative to the weight supporting wheel;
• wherein the electric generator includes a series of simultaneously openable and/or widenable magnetic gaps through which a serially conducted magnetic flux can flow where a simultaneous opening and/or widening of the series of simultaneously openable and/or widenable magnetic gaps decreases an intensity of the serially conducted magnetic flux at a rate corresponding to a summation of the opening and/or widening rates of the simultaneously openable and/or widenable magnetic gaps;
• the method comprising:
• displacing at least one of the rider support and weight supporting wheel relative to the other.