The mobile phone and the future of Urban Transport

The Mobile phone and the future of Urban Transport

The Personal Mobile Transporter.

How you can save yourself and mother earth.

The title of this article seems very odd. What has the mobile phone to do with moving people around going on their daily life.

The mobile phone is what we call a disruptive technology. It destroyed our old system of communication using the telephone line. It also changed the way we buy, sell products and services or what you call e- commerce. Most important of all we can now do all the above literally from any place in the world and even on the move.

In the days of landlines all communications depended on the telephone. So if you have no telephone you will not be able to talk to another person out of hearing range. Even then you must make arrangement with the party to pick up the phone when you dial the number. Otherwise you will have to leave a message and rearrange a new time to communicate.

Even the message you sent can be erroneous. This is because the person transmitting the message can say different things or worse to than that forgot to transmit the message. Then came the telex machine. First you will need to find one and worst the message has to be delivered by a person or by post. Finally with the advent of the fax machines all these problems were greatly reduced but all these were  still not personal. There is always some middle person or machine that you need to access.

The line telephone mode of communications was thus expensive and prone to errors.

As for commerce the mobile phone has really destroyed many systems. The personal computer revolutionise how information was handled and business was done creating what we know as e-commerce. With e-commerce you no longer needed a physical shop. People can buy and sell things 24 hours a day without even coming into physical contact. Now the mobile phone is your personal computer and thus the days of the PC is limited. Even better with Apps the mobile phone can do much more things faster and you can also lock in your customer.

Now what has the mobile phone to do with the transport system.?

As you know the transport system is very similar to the landline telephone system. When you want to go from point A to point B, you can walk. So just like not using the telephone when you can shout your message across. If you have time and the distances are longer, you can use a bicycle to go further.  Nowadays we are always in a rush and we need to cover much longer distances. The car was the greatest invention that came into our lives. It is personal, convenient and transport us great distances very comfortably. However when everyone wants to drive in a city, it creates massive traffic jams, pollution, and takes up too much land space. Not only we need land for roads to drive around but also to park the car. Thus cars are a very expensive mode of transport. It is really very wasteful on the world’s resources. Cars consume a lot of energy as you are moving big chunks of metal and rubber around. You will need even more resources to clean up the pollution it creates in addition to getting rid of the rubbish like tyres, plastics etc.

So in most cities we are encouraged to use public transport such as buses and trains. Buses and trains can transport many people efficiently and at much cheaper cost than cars. However as they are designed to transport big numbers they are no longer personal. Effectively you will have to wait for a bus or a train to come along. Thus your time of travel has to match other similar travellers. Besides this you will have to walk to the designated spot be it the bus stop or the train station i.e the so call last mile.

Trains are a very efficient mode of transport provided you can conveniently within reach of the station. There are no traffic jams or traffic lights to bother. There is also a very low risk of accidents as in driving a car. To top it the majority of the trains don’t even need a driver. There is hardly any pollution along its track so that the air quality is greatly improved.

The set back of the train system is obviously the cost of building and maintenance. However over the long run it is very cost effective. Access to the stations is the main problem as these stations can be quite a distance apart. Furthermore when the population is not dense enough in certain areas it is not economical to built a train line. A big occasional irritant is when the train system breaks down. Then thousands of people are inconvenienced as there is no backup to it.

Buses are a very convenient mode of transport as there have the mobility as the car. Bus stops are usually closer to each other than train stations. In Singapore bus stops are set about 400 meters apart while train stations are about 800 meters apart.

Stuck in traffic

Problems of using buses.

Many times when you are waiting for the bus it does not seem to turn up at the designated time.  When it finally shows up it is packed and you have to wait for the next bus. Thus travelling times can be affected and one have to give more leeway.

Buses have to share the roads with all other road users i.e cars , trucks, motorcycles , bicycles and finally pedestrians. So you have many types of vehicles on the move and worst of all a human being with all its unpredictability and nuances constantly making the bus trip unpredictable. To add to this confusion there is also the dump traffic lights to contend with. Thus most bus journeys are seldom smooth and many a times the passengers are thrown around. More often than not any bus accidents usually have significant casualties.

Then there is the problem of pollution. All buses are powered by diesel engines. At least in Singapore black soot belching buses are rare but nevertheless with a few thousand buses daily on the roads a fair share of smog is created. Then there is the problem of bus schedules. To please the public buses are run on schedules. As in the typical transport problem everybody wants to travel at the same time. Thus the buses are packed. But then one forgets that during off peak hours these buses are running more or less empty thus really contributing unnecessary pollution. Furthermore it is all these wastage of no passenger miles that add the cost to the bus fares. In addition buses take up a lot of road space and parking places. In land scarce Singapore this can add up to a lot of land both for bus stops and terminals. Also buses are fairly huge vehicles and they really slow down road traffic especially when they come to bus stops and also the implementation of bus lanes. Congestion at bus stops contribute to a lot of delays and also significantly lengthen travel time. The worst journey is obviously when you have to take a feeder bus to catch a train change to another train followed by another bus to your final destination.

Finally there is the problem with costs. Buses are not cheap vehicles. Some of them can cost more than half a million dollars. Add these to the number of bus drivers the cost of running a fleet of buses it is a very costly transport system.  Bus drivers in Singapore are usually foreigners as locals cannot take the hardship. Can you imagine driving the bus from Clementi to Bedok facing all the traffic and the irate passengers, plus wearing diapers as there is no way to go to the loo. As it is there is no robot bus driver yet unlike the trains.

Taxis. This is probably the most convenient mode of transport. Fortunately taxi fares in Singapore are very reasonable but it can still burn a big hole in your pocket. In the era of driverless cars this can be a very good option. Still like a car it is still a big chunk of metal running around. In Singapore the authorities require the taxi to clock a mileage of 250 kilometers so as to ensure they don’t hide at places. Really in the age of Uber and other call apps this is really and joke and extremely waste of fuel, wear and tear, least of all contributing to the smog.

What About Bicycles ?

The funny thing is our traditional idea of the bicycle as a clean, healthy mode of transport is the barrier to the new age of Personal mobile transporter. PMT for short. Bicycles have been around for a very long time even before your advent of cars. Remember the massive numbers in China’s cities before Chinese became rich. What happen to all these cyclist? They all become fanatic new car owners. Not only did they have a new status symbol now they have also projected their distances significantly.

Let’s face it. The number of cyclists dwindled because cycling is really hard work. Yes it is good for health but you can be very tired when you reach your destination. Then there is this weather problem which all cyclist are faced with. In Singapore  the weather is so hot that even cycling for a kilometre is a torture and you will need a shower just to get rid of the sweat. In countries with winter and snow it is too cold to really pedal on the road.

Many countries have developed cycle lanes to encourage cycling. Holland is the best example and thus a lot of Dutch people commute with bicycles. However in Singapore the civil service has their brains stamped with this phrase of land scarcity that building cycle lanes is done at a snail’s pace. Also we still have an archaic law that says bicycles must share the roads with other mechanised vehicles so much so road traffic deaths are a regular. This puts tremendous fear on me to cycle especially the buses and trucks are always rushing to their destinations.

The bicycle is a very large object and some of them can be pretty heavy. There are many places in Singapore , one has to carry their bicycles across bridges or go down staircases. This is really daunting for a petite person. There are a number of foldable bicycles that one can use on trains but few people have use it because it is very difficult to move it into a crowded train. Last but not least bicycle thefts are still rampant in Singapore. I was once such a victim and the authorities have not been able to solve this issue. I have given up cycling since then.

The new disruptive revolution.

The first of the technologies introduced was the electrical powered bicycles. This turn the common bicycle into much like a electric motorbike. It extended the cyclist range greatly with the comfort without the need to peddle.  In China this is a very common vehicle. In fact there are charging stations just like your petrol stations where a short charge can enable one to reach home or their office to plug in for a full charge. However they have made it more or less like a electrical motorbike and thus is fairly bulky.

Choosing freedom

The electric skateboard and other similar devices.

Recent technological development in reducing the size of electric motors and greater power output has enabled them to be fitted to skateboards. This essentially started as a piece of fun equipment but many people have adapted it for their daily commute.  With the affordability of light weight lithium batteries this boards have a tremendous reduction in weight and at the same time significant range. Now there are a plethora of other similar devices such as the hoverboard, spinning wheels, roller skates. For those who cannot balance so well seats can be fitted to the skateboards.

Once again Singapore has failed to recognise this new disruptive technology. Our country prides itself trying to be an innovative country but actually we have been followers. This may stem from our citizens and decision makers kiasu mentality. Every project we undertake  must have an expert panel  opinion. If the project does not meet expectations it is not my fault because so many experts have studied it. Take for example the idea of flood prevention, we need a panel of external experts to advice us on that matter. Some of these experts come from countries that have desert like climate. Can’t we think for ourselves?

This Personal Mobility Transporter is really god sent to our small nation state especially for our hot humid climate. Riding on it will immediately create a natural breeze. It is not only our country’s answer to mass transport but if we can innovate further a great contributor to the world eco system.

The advantages of the PMT.

Clean and non air polluting.

The total reduction in buses and cars with their associated CO  and noise pollution is already a fantastic contribution.

Reduction in land demand

There will also be a tremendous gain in land space due to the reduction of roads and also motor vehicle parking spaces.

Human resource.

The reduction in buses and taxis will contribute to our manpower  issue.

Barrier free movement

Independent mobility.

Whether you are young or old, handicap or fit there is a PMT that can be tailored made for you. You no longer have to wait for the bus or taxi and reach all corners of Singapore. MRT breakdowns are not an issue as you can still zoom home. Some PMT are so powerful you can travel with your partner or child.

It is very common in Singapore to see a maid pushing a wheel chair loaded by an overweight person. Doesn’t it make great sense to use an electric wheel chair instead?

Where is the jam?

 Isn’t it like your mobile phone?

What can Singapore do? Follow the concept of the mobile phone.

Miniaturise and improve.

We should research into developing lightweight materials be it the motors, body and the battery. Even the battery charger can be made smaller and thus portable. Eventually the whole kit can be folded and pack in a small haversack to make it really personal.

Develop the necessary infrastructure.

PMT lanes and flyovers.

Like the cycle lanes, special lanes can be created to avoid PMT pedestrian, or PMT motor vehicle conflicts. In fact PMT can travel on raised paths i.e like existing double decker roads and flyovers to speed up their travel. The lightweight nature of PMTs allow for such constructions. School children can safely travel on their own to schools no need for school buses or their parents crowding outside the school. Singapore had already embarked on a program to build cover walkways. So we can have a double decker walkway with the PMTs using the upper section while pedestrian use the lower  section.

Charging Stations.

In time just like the mobile phone you can just plug it into any electrical socket be it in the office or even in the cafe. As we have a lot of sunshine, solar panel charging stations can be build all over the country. 

PMT on call.

Google technology has changed our lives tremendously. They are experimenting on driverless cars and their google navigation system has made London taxi driver training looks like dinosaur school. Thus you don’t even need to worry to own a PMT. Use a phone to call up one and with the smart technology it will come to you from the nearest PMT storage depot, send you to your destination using the fastest and most convenient route. Isn’t it great for the tourist and definitely for you. The whole system can interact with driverless train systems thus increasing PMT’s reach.

So why are governments not even thinking of the idea?. Some people say it is because they can’t collect taxes on PMT usage. Hopefully that not true. They can save billions of dollars not building or maintaining so many roads, buying buses etc, thus there is no need for tax increase. For the average person not owning a car is already saving tremendous amount of money plus you are now a great eco citizen of the world. Generally speaking people who run governments love grandiose projects so that people can remember the great thing thay have done. Take for example the city of Metro Manila which perpectually plaqued with traffic jams and pollution. They calculated that the number of man hours lost in these jams run into billions without even thinking of the health care cost from pollution. So they got JICA, the Japanese government agency to develop a master plan to solve this problem and you what they recommended. Five things which include a new airport plan, new harbour, new subway, road controls etc. Now please tell me how is the Philippine’s government going to pay for all that and how much will the Manila citizens suffer before all those work are completed. Just don’t make sense eh?

Humans are funny. When the Segway came out many governments bought it so that their police can ride on it to guard in airports and public spaces This machine is very expensive yet governments pride on it. Isn’t a show off thing. I think a lot of governments don’t want to implement PMTs because they are worried other countries will laugh at them with such a cheap transport system. Wait till Prada makes one of them with star studded diamonds.

Ask not what the world (government) can do for you but ask yourself what you can do for yourself.

 If you wait for the government to act on this idea, it may not happen. This is the best time to do your own thing. Free from the constraint of public transport, free from the heavy loans of owning a car. Free from all the pollutants in the air generated by buses, cars and motorbikes. These air pollutants may be a contributor to all the cancers we are suffering from. Also we can avoid a great many road traffic tragedies. With PMT’s the authorities can ban motorcycles. Motorcycles are potentially death machines.

We can also save the world by reducing our carbon footprint and thus our polluting footprint. It is already here so go for freedom and also do a good deed for mother earth.

The future PMT Drones

Amazon dot com is talking about delivering their parcels using drones. What is there to stop us from developing a PMT drone that enables us to fly. That day will come when the batteries are very light and the propellers can generate enough power. After all, just like you mobile phone you can charge your drone anywhere.

Just Ride it