Interesting project undertaken at Qatar. The article quotes:

a large proportion of the population suffers from problems brought on by prosperity

To solve the problem they need a consulting firm, an advisory committee and loads of ‘innovative’ technology. Why don’t people hop on a bike and ride would probably never have an answer.

These projects remind me of the top down approach to solving problems in Singapore. You need a LTA to do a pilot project to share pedestrian paths. You need SMRT to open up MRT system to allow bikes. You need traffic advice from government. You need ministers to remind you to exercise.

It is a real pity that a educated bunch of people do not see obvious options in front of their eyes and take initiative to address problems from the bottom up. It does not take much courage or effort to ride a bike to the grocery store or to the ATM or to the cinema.

As in Singapore, so will be in Qatar. A top down infrastructure setup may try to encourage a couple of people but is not going to change the culture. I wonder when will policy makers start to learn this simple lesson.

We live in times when a lot of knowledge we have is consumed from external sources, be it media, friends, observation etc… The accrual of knowledge by thinking and experimenting has taken a back seat since it is usually slow and longwinded. In such situations, responsible external influences, specifically media (respectable media) has the responsibility to provide accurate and sensible commentary on issues.

I came across this article in the WSJ. If you wish to know, it is getting some flak from the commuting community (that sounds silly).

To me, the article reeks of elitism. The author misses the point of cycling in China. To him, it seems that medals in Olympics is more important that a large population sustaining their lifestyle without falling back on polluting fossil fuels. the argument he makes is analogous to saying there is no point walking if you don’t take part in a competition. He also conveniently makes an understatement that the richer you get, the more you should rely on fossil fuels and lesser on other modes of commuting. In fact the reality is that the richer you get, the more education you can afford and you can make a good decision on the best mode for commute.

This feller is not alone, the marketing machinery for the bicycle industry (and the automobile industry) have ben very successful in brainwashing people to believe that one should rely on cars (not public transport / bicycles) if you can afford and should strive to afford it. Secondly, they have convinced the mass that cycling should be seen as a sport and a weekend recreational pursuit instead of being a core means of transport.

We on the other hand, are slowly stopping individual thought and lopping up the bull-shit that comes out of reputable media, to the extent that we do not question any analysis presented in such articles.

Personally I do not argue against anyone’s choice of transport, I believe everyone picks what is most convenient to them, like I do when I use my bike. I just hope that people can give biking a chance as a mode of transport and when they do, they can figure out for themselves, the benefits and issues that comes along with the choice. To me, the benefits outweigh the cons and I would continue commuting on bike for a long while to come.