Chope: Things To Come?

The Klang Valley has never been known for originality. The abundance of counterfeit goods in Petaling Street aside, we are a city with an Eye, a Times Square and too many Sohos and Central Parks. Following on from these trends, we can safely assume that our future will look something like what’s happening in other parts of the world, only that we usually screw it up in our own inimitable fashion, making the results uniquely our own. Still, it's good to look at several global trends, if only in envy… and to sigh in advance over what will most likely be pathetic attempts at copying.

Congestion charges
Even more controversial than banning smoking would be trying to reduce traffic jams by way of congestion charges. The idea of introducing congestion charges here was first floated last year, but it will be unlikely that they would be introduced anytime soon. KL wouldn't be the only city having a hard time making it law. New York's attempt fell flat, while in London it’s been met with general loathing. Singapore, the country that professes one-party rule as key to its efficiency, has long had its ERP, which essentially imposes a fee for vehicles entering certain high-traffic areas. But micro-managing Singapore can do whatever it wants, really. As a car-dependent city accustomed to—but unhappy with—arbitrary toll charges, congestion charges will certainly be difficult to introduce, no matter how noble the intention. If cities where a considerable number of their population use public transport on a daily basis have a tough time introducing congestion charges, where does that leave us?

Municipal Wi-Fi
In an ideal world, wireless Internet access would be free and everywhere. That way, even the poor and hungry can blog. But here's a newsflash that didn't require the Internet: we live in a terribly flawed world. As excited as most people, myself included, have been about free, city-wide Wi-Fi, no one has really figured out how to make it an economically feasible endeavour yet. Not San Francisco, not Philadelphia, not Chicago. Closer to home, the previous Perak government did launch its initiative to cover a big part of the state with wireless access to the Internet. Though there was some progress in the beginning, not much has been heard about the free Wi-Fi project. With a new government in place, we might not ever hear about it ever again. Considering how even paid Internet service is far from satisfactory for most users, perhaps it's a good thing the Klang Valley has yet to pump in millions just so we can fail like all the other cities. Perhaps it’s true that there’s some kind of telco conspiracy that’s stopping the world from turning Wi-Fi loose and free.

Bicycles for rent
The scheme is simple, but the results may be potentially revolutionary. All over Paris are automatically operated bike rental stations, dispensing what are called Velib bicycles. With the swipe of a credit card, a bike is yours to use. When you're done, the bikes can be returned at any of nearly 1,500 stations. Return the bike within 30 minutes and it's free. It's a convenient and quick way to travel around the city. Similar concepts can be found elsewhere, but the success and popularity of Paris' model has piqued the interest of several other major cities. So unlike, say, free Wi-Fi, there’s a favourable precedent. But then again, it's Paris, not only a city where there are bicycle lanes galore, but also place where the ugliness of the Velib bikes are an effective theft deterrent. Here in KL, where even manhole covers are worth stealing, it's hard not to imagine the bicycles cycling themselves into oblivion.

Non-smoking
Singapore's done it. Then again, you would expect Singapore to do this sort of thing. But so has London and New York. Even entire states like California, or countries like Ireland, have banned smoking in the best places to enjoy a cigarette—bars and pubs. Look, the likelihood of this happening here is next to nothing. For starters, there's little initiative for KL City Hall to introduce such a law. Second, can you imagine a smoking ban successfully enforced in Kuala Lumpur? This is, after all, a city where lawbreaking isn't confined to criminals alone. Even a limping makcik will jaywalk if given half a chance, much less some easily excitable thug who puffs two packs a day. And could you really be heartless enough to put those skimpily dressed cigarette girls out a job?


Brian Yap is looking forward to cycling on the congestrion-free streets of KL while downloading e-mail from you. Write to him at brian@freeform.com.my