Monday, August 19, 2019

Why can't Singaporeans just walk

Source Website: https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/electric-scooters-unicycles-hoverboards-why-cant-singaporeans-just-walk
By Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone, 05 August 2019


In this file photo taken on April 17, 2019, A man rides an E-Scooter of rental company Tier in Berlin on April 17, 2019.
PHOTO: In this file photo taken on April 17, 2019, A man rides an E-Scooter of rental company Tier in Berlin on April 17, 2019. - Germany on May 17, 2019, became the latest country to ban electric scooters from its pavements, restricting them to roads and cycle paths amid rising protests from pedestrians.
PHOTO: AFP
Picture posted by Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone on 05 August 2019

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https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/electric-scooters-unicycles-hoverboards-why-cant-singaporeans-just-walk



Remember back when walking or cycling were the only options for the last mile of your commute - that final stretch between home and the nearest bus stop or train station?

In hi-tech Singapore, where citizens can choose anything from electrically powered scooters to hoverboards and unicycles to make that last leg of the journey, some citizens long for those halcyon days.

These gizmos, collectively called personal mobility devices or PMDs, have proliferated in recent years, with their inventors describing them as a silver bullet for last-mile commuting.

But just like the city state's previous experimental last-mile solution - the shared bicycles that came to clutter the streets - PMDs are proving somewhat controversial.

The government has found itself having to appease both PMD users, who swear the devices are a game changer, and their critics - who say they make pedestrians' lives hell.



The government has found itself having to appease both PMD users, who swear the devices are a game changer, and their critics - who say they make pedestrians' lives hell.
The government has found itself having to appease both PMD users, who swear the devices are a game changer, and their critics - who say they make pedestrians' lives hell.
PHOTO: The government has found itself having to appease both PMD users, who swear the devices are a game changer, and their critics - who say they make pedestrians' lives hell.
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Industry sources say there are about 80,000 active users of these devices in the city state.

The naysayers claim that these PMD users, zipping around at speeds well above those of racing bicycles, have little care for pedestrians. They point to a rising number of accidents involving these devices as a reason for stricter enforcement of regulations.

In one instance, online footage of an e-scooter - superimposed with a virtual speedometer - showed its user purportedly travelling at 150km/h. Such speeds can be reached by users upgrading their PMDs beyond officially mandated specifications.

Under the country's Active Mobility Act, PMDs cannot weigh more than 20kg or be wider than 70cm. The rules also stipulate that PMD users cannot travel faster than 10km/h on footpaths and 25km/h on cycling paths and park connectors.

A new measure in recent months has made it compulsory for riders to register their e-scooters, so as to facilitate easier monitoring of the devices.

Still, the Land Transport Authority has said there were some 1,700 offences linked to PMD usage between January and June.



For some Singaporeans, e-scooters are proving almost as annoying as their predecessors, shared bicycles.
PHOTO: For some Singaporeans, e-scooters are proving almost as annoying as their predecessors, shared bicycles.
PHOTO: AFP
Picture posted by Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone on 05 August 2019

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Also causing a major headache is the increasing number of fires in public housing apartments that have been linked to the charging of these devices.

Official data showed there were 54 such fires in the first six months of this year, up from 24 in the same period last year.

A man in mid-July died in hospital days after being caught at home in a fire that is believed to have been triggered by the charging of e-scooters.

Following that incident, the transport ministry on July 23 announced it was considering bringing forward a deadline for users to comply with fire-safety standards specific to the devices by the end of next year.

Singapore is the first country to mandate the "UL2272 standard" for all PMDs. The standard is a US certification that would require devices to pass a series of comprehensive tests on their electrical and mechanical components.

Walter Theseira, one of the country's leading transport-sector researchers, said the teething problems left Singapore facing a conundrum as the local authorities had hoped PMDs were a "free lunch" - or an effortless and near-costless - solution to last-mile commutes.

Local policymakers see solving the last-mile question as the final piece in the city's world-class public transport system.

Their last attempt, which saw the proliferation of shared bicycles similar to those omnipresent in mainland China, was widely considered a failure after inconsiderate users cluttered public spaces with their haphazard parking of the vehicles.

Despite a promising start, shared-bicycle operators in Singapore have since hit the brakes, with most of them leaving the industry.

Theseira said policymakers' approach towards PMDs until recently had been one of "let's monitor and then try to mitigate when the worst happens".

Said the transport economist from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS): "[Policymakers] are freed from having to worry about car control problems or public transport problems."

"Why would you act to kill these things immediately when there is potential for a free lunch? There is no reason to."

Also likely to have weighed on the policymakers' minds, Theseira said, was a belief that they needed to adopt a relaxed regulatory approach to keep up the city state's image as a place open to innovation. Companies hawking the PMDs - and the now out-of-fashion shared bicycles - had capitalised on this, he said.

"If you rejected these innovations, the implications are that you are now a city that does not understand modern technology," said Theseira, who is also an appointed lawmaker. "That's the image these companies were consciously cultivating to convince city governments to accept them. Singapore has a lot to lose from being on the wrong side of that particular battle."

Cecilia Rojas, another researcher who focuses on active mobility, said PMDs arrived "way too fast" for the Singapore government to orchestrate a response.

She said the government might face challenges in coming up with regulations as it had to consider different types of PMDs, as well as their features, from their weight to their maximum speeds.

For example, riders using a hoverboard might be able to reach a higher travelling speed in a much shorter time, compared to those on e-scooters.

Another consideration was the space taken up by different types of PMDs, Rojas added. E-scooters, for example, take up a greater area than hoverboards or unicycles.

"The usage of the devices as well … some are personal, some are commercial, some are for recreation, and each user has different needs. So [to find] a balance can be hard to achieve," said Rojas, who lectures on logistics transport at SUSS.



The electric scooter: coming to a road near you?
PHOTO: The electric scooter: coming to a road near you?
PHOTO: South China Morning Post
Picture posted by Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone on 05 August 2019

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On Singapore being faced with incompatible infrastructure, Rojas said it was inevitable, given how the use of PMDs had grown "too common, too fast".

Theseira added that while it was logical to ban the devices from roads, it meant riders would have to share pavements with pedestrians.

"Our design standard was that our pathways were wide enough … I believe for two wheelchairs to pass through side by side. Obviously, the design is not for two PMDs travelling at some speed," said Theseira.

He said Singapore had the option of rebuilding pathways to accommodate PMDs, but this would come at a high cost.

A WRONG MOVE
Other experts were less accommodating of PMDs. Transport economist Park Byung Joon said it was a "wrong move" even to allow such devices in Singapore, given the island state's small size.

"To accommodate the PMDs, we need a lot of space, compared to people walking. And if we look at pedestrian paths in Singapore, we don't even have that wide walking area for pedestrians, and now we are going to share that limited space with PMDs? That will cause a lot of problems," he said.

With no immediate proscription of the devices in sight, many pedestrians have become afraid to use footpaths.

One of them, Anna, a 67-year-old retiree, said riders often flouted speed limits and that "easily triggered accidents".

"The speeds at which youth use these devices are too fast, and they seem to come from all directions," she added. "I think it is okay to have riders in the park or recreational areas, but not in highly populated residential neighbourhoods where there are many elderly people around. It's just too dangerous."

Among the authorities' solutions for these concerns are a proposal to ban PMDs from shared areas of public housing blocks and the deployment of mobile closed-circuit television cameras at accident hotspots.



Tourists in Zhuhai ride two-wheeled electric scooters.
PHOTO: Tourists in Zhuhai ride two-wheeled electric scooters.
PHOTO: South China Morning Post
Picture posted by Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone on 05 August 2019

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Even so, George Chia, who is in his 50s, said there should be greater governmental controls.

Chia, a sales and operations manager, felt Singapore should "do away" with the mobility devices as more reports on PMD-related fires and accidents emerged.

The industry researchers said such a sweeping measure was unlikely. Notwithstanding the pitfalls - accidents, injuries and potential fires - the upsides of the devices could not be ignored, said Theseira.

PMD usage can save commuters time as they do not have to wait for feeder buses or transit between different modes of transport to get to their final destination.

Theseira said pedestrians and riders needed to learn to coexist. For example, riders should develop social habits such as dismounting when approaching pedestrian-heavy areas.

Rojas said the government had been trying to find ways to balance the needs of pedestrians and PMD users, but the two groups needed to have mutual respect. She said: "If everyone [subscribes to the principle] of respecting each other, then the three - pedestrians, cyclists and PMD users - can coexist in the same space."



Rojas said the government had been trying to find ways to balance the needs of pedestrians and PMD users, but the two groups needed to have mutual respect.
Rojas said the government had been trying to find ways to balance the needs of pedestrians and PMD users, but the two groups needed to have mutual respect.
PHOTO: Rojas said the government had been trying to find ways to balance the needs of pedestrians and PMD users, but the two groups needed to have mutual respect.

"He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." (John 1:27).
Sandals had been worn for several thousands of years predating even the Egyptians. But, it has been said that the Greeks and Romans perfected the craft. According to an article on the history of sandals, By the time of the New Testament, walking was the primary means of travel and the Disciples were encouraged to protect their feet when called upon to spread the gospel. They were cautioned against wearing anything other than humble sandals, however lest they offended potential converts. [2]

Even the people of biblical times had to battle with the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies of their times. Our current battle with screens and devices are wreaking havoc on our souls and we all know it. Yes, there are some huge benefits to how efficient our devices can make life, but if we are honest with ourselves, there are many pitfalls that cause us to dwell less on the things of God, and more on the things of facebook, twitter, instagram, amazon and ebay. [2]
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By Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone, 05 August 2019
This article was first published in South China Morning Post.





Other story

PMD Use To Be Banned At Void Decks In 15 HDB Estates, Aljunied & Hougang Might Follow, posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2019
PMD Use To Be Banned At Void Decks In 15 HDB Estates, Aljunied & Hougang Might Follow, posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/pmd-use-to-be-banned-at-void-decks-in.html




Reference
[1] Dewey Sim, South China Morning Post, Asiaone, Electric scooters, unicycles, hoverboards: Why can't Singaporeans just walk?, posted on 05 August 2019, https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/electric-scooters-unicycles-hoverboards-why-cant-singaporeans-just-walk

[2] T.J. Burdick, 10 Times the Bible Mentions Technology Use, https://catholicexchange.com/10-times-the-bible-mentions-technology-use


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