Tag: cars

Life is a Highway

India – More highways or Better National & Public Transport?
 
This is an email I had sent to our Minister for Road Transport & Highways in January this year. Of course I am still optimistic (or delusional) enough to hope for a response or an opportunity to further discuss this topic. Either way, I hope they at least consider it for a moment.
 
—email–
I have two thoughts to share with regard to your ministry’s awe-inspiring INR 3.3 lakh crore highway development plan [23 highways, 4-5 years]. It might help to reconsider the scale of the projects.
 
Please consider these two historical events:
Scenario 1: In the late 1800’s, electric car prototypes existed [William Morrison and others]. But given limited research and push, fuel-powered cars won, leading to a century of polluting vehicles and climate damage.
Imagine the world today if a more long-term view was taken in the late 1800’s and electric vehicles were pursued and developed!
 
Scenario 2: In the 1950’s, a few leaders and businesses saw great potential for plastic in consumer goods. Almost instantly, entire industry sectors were created around plastic goods and packaging. Half a century later, our helpless dependence on plastic continues, and its resulting ecological disaster is becoming irreparable.
Imagine the world today if a more long-term view was taken in the 1950’s and plastic was to be used sparingly and responsibly!
 
Sir, we are now at a similar crossroads with regard to vehicles in India. And you have the power to choose one of two possible routes for us. Please let it be the one that remains relevant half a century later.
 
Here are two thoughts for your consideration:
1. As autonomous vehicles become prevalent in the next 1-2 decades, we will most likely shift from a car ownership to a Transportation as a Service (TaaS) model, taking the usage efficiency from the current ~10% to ~90%. With this, the total number of cars needed could reduce to 1/5th its current growing demand [Ref.: https://www.slideshare.net/Ideafarms/transportation-2050-the-future-of-personal-mobility ]
 While cargo related road expansion plans could continue as planned, if we only add sufficient road infrastructure for passenger cars to factor a future TaaS model, our planned highways might not need to be as wide as planned, and the project cost need not be as high as it is.
 
2. India, compared to North America, has four times the US population living on an area that is 1/3rd that of the US landmass. Therefore, higher individual ownership of vehicles made more sense in the US given the distance between people and places.
   The Indian scenario is quite opposite. Many people on a smaller land mass. This means, a world class national and state based public and private mass transportation would be a more logical option to pursue than individual car ownership. If we simply build wider highways and push car ownership from an auto industry that is largely dependent on a captive domestic market but struggles to compete globally, we would end up with (i) an inefficient auto industry, (ii) traffic-jammed cities and towns, and (iii) huge, inefficiently used automotive assets sitting idle at homes and offices. We might lose our global efficiency and edge due to challenges this inefficiency would present not necessarily now, but in the decades to come.
 
So, if we create more efficient public and private mass transportation infrastructure like Singapore today, we can save investments on the current highway projects by making them more future-efficient. And the saved funds could be diverted to boost relevant economy sectors that will give us a global edge in the coming decades, while creating more efficient lives in a cleaner and traffic-free India.
—end of email–
 
Thoughts?

The 106 Ladies at the Auto World Vintage Car Museum

The 106 Ladies at the Auto World Vintage Car Museum

I was in Ahmedabad for a meeting earlier this year. Had to visit the Auto World Vintage Car Museum before getting back. With 106 cars there, it is a car-lover’s heaven. The cars are owned by Mumbai-resident Pranlal bhogilal Patel. A must-visit if you find yourself in the city.

Reached the museum around 1:30 pm on a May afternoon. Was probably about 42°C, and the open place just had roofs over the car halls. Had planned to get at least a picture of each of the 106 cars. Hope I did. The phone screen felt like it was on fire, but thankfully it held.

You might want to keep your laptop or phone a little away from you so you don’t drool all over it.

Click the link here to see them all. Enjoy!

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The Superior Sex

The Superior Sex

The timing of this post, right after the so-called ‘Women’s day’ is purely coincidental.

For one, I don’t even know what ‘Women’s day’ is supposed to mean. If we ‘full-of-ourselves-men’ don’t have a ‘men’s day’, then except for commercial businesses to make a killing, I don’t get it.

Now, back to the post. I’m going to risk my neck here by stating that, usually (usually, not always!) men tend to be more savvy with machines, electronics and mobile phones, as compared to women. Agree with me on that? Now, I’m not trying to belittle women in any way. But maybe women are very specific about what they want, and they focus on the essentials. They understand those areas about machines or gadgets, without bothering much about ‘what else’ a machine is capable of doing. We men on the other hand, curious as ever, go to great lengths, often breaking and fixing gadgets, just to get answers to ‘why’ or ‘why not’. I have noticed that with things ranging from cars to computers to mobile phones, and so on.

Long story short, there’s something amazing I’ve observed. I’m not sure if it’s a local phenomenon, though I doubt it is. And that is, that despite men being more curious about gadgets, especially in their younger years, sometimes tend to grapple, often disinterestedly, at a later stage in life, with technology. Their wives on the other hand, tend to become more alert and grasp new technology better as they get older. Older men boldly declare cluelessness on the word go. And several older women put in the extra effort to pace up with technology. It could be to serve a bigger purpose, like wanting to FaceTime or Skype with their children away at college, or stay in touch with friends or relatives on WhatsApp for that matter. I find that to be a really impressive trait that I’ve noticed in a lot of older women. Aren’t women way smarter then?

And I don’t think the best operations professionals could organize and schedule processes better than the average homemaker can. If you knew the number of factors they simultaneously keep track of, while making a seamless and hassle-free environment possible for family members, it’s almost unbelievable.

I say let’s march all the housewives to run our industries, and they’ll revive businesses and economies long before you and I can figure our way around the kitchen.

So I think we blokes should have one day as ‘men’s day’, and let women have the remaining days. They definitely deserve it.

insight

Insight by Helenka

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Forward Pass

Forward Pass

Try this. Say instead of zipping past a car on the opposite side of the road waiting to make a u-turn, slow down (of course, look back first, to make sure you don’t cause a pileup) to ’em make the turn. The driver will be pleasantly surprised. They don’t expect it. Nobody does. And that’s what makes it even more worthwhile.

Or for that matter, let the lady with kids, or the old folk cross the road. Without having to hear the roaring of menacing engines revving impatiently for them to dive-out-of-the-way. Or even just random people who are already on the road (provided you aren’t already going too fast), let them pass.

Try it once or twice, and you’re gonna love it. If not for the good feeling of doing a lil good deed, at least for the surprise you’ll be giving these folk. It’s worth every moment.

And with everybody doing this at least a few times a day, imagine just how much more pleasurable driving could become.!

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Ease up…On the Throttle

Ease up…On the Throttle

Ever been late to get somewhere, and you got stuck behind a car driven by an old woman or man, or maybe even a learner who’s instructor managed to pick the same road on the same day when you were late and crossing it. Or even the one who’s so busy chatting with their co-passenger, that driving becomes almost an external, disconnected event for them.

And what do we do in turn. Blaring horns, jumping the car menacingly at them, or even swerving dangerously close to them when we finally manage to overtake.

Am saying this coz I’ve pretty much done it all when it comes to bullying the day dreamers on the road.

But recently I realized; I guess after my mom n dad’s repeated advice started sinking in. We can’t change the world. At least, definitely not by bullying them around. Ok, might I clarify, that I’ve never bullied old people or women drivers, or old people and women in general. It’s usually taxi drivers, or the lost drivers who temporarily suspend all road rules and regulations while they pass by. Or the occasional owner of cars, who probably didn’t have to ‘earn’ their license to drive.

Anyway, back to what I was saying. I realized that we can’t change people by going at them menacingly, or by cutting ahead of them. Now while I have realized it, it still does take a while to implement. Coz the average Indian driver can come up with a million different ways to drive you crazy, literally.

The way I’ve started working on easing up, is in stages. You could try it too. Firstly, say you’re driving back home after work. You’re not exactly in a hurry to get anywhere then. So why not let that car in the next lane move up in front of you. Or why not let the car that’s two lanes to your right, cut three lanes without indicating, and take the turn coming up to your left. Or be a little patient with people learning how to drive, or those not very confident about their driving, even if they’re going at 15 kmh.

After all, learners deserve a chance to learn without the fear of being shouted at, without the deafening sound of many horns, and without having vehicles move threateningly close to them. Same goes for ladies, and the old folk too. And more so for out-of-towners. I’ve noticed that people of cities aren’t particularly ‘friendly’ to vehicles and occupants of cars from another city.

Then I plan to address the main problem. To develop driving etiquette. To be patient with the crazy drivers on the road and not curse them. Not to overreact to their ignorance, lack of confidence or outright disrespect for traffic rules.

Maybe everybody deserves a second and third chance after all.

And with us ‘reactors’ not ‘reacting’ to crazy driving, that itself would reduce the total number of ‘crazy drivers’ on the road. And that way, hopefully, one day, the number of patient, mature and responsible drivers will slowly start outnumbering the crazies and force them to get their act together too.

That’s what hope and patience are all about I guess.

That, or I’m getting old real quick.

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