MALAYSIA’S urban population has seen its fair share of ambitious ideas roll out over the years with regards to technological innovation, particularly those that fall under alternative modes of modern transportation.
While concepts such as bicycle and ride-sharing services do offer convenience and eco-friendly privileges (adopting the global push for lesser gas emissions), arguments on safety and sustainability still transpire.
Last December, the authorities made an announcement to prohibit the usage of electric scooters on city streets, stating that users would face a hefty fine (RM300 for the first offence, and RM1,000 or three months jail for the second offence) if they did not comply. This is scheduled to take place starting today (January 1st, 2021).
It should not come as much of a surprise. We have experienced similar disputes on other forms of newly introduced service vehicles before appreciating the benefits, such as finding solutions to urban congestion issues – just look at the fate of the yellow bikes that have spread across Klang Valley.
A risky tech novelty?
Clearly the public requires a lot of careful understanding to slowly warm up to any lifestyle changes, but how much more time do they need to reduce their reliance on private cars and expand on the options of public transit to fully embody a developed metropolitan area?
Working hard to mitigate the situation, Humayun Razzaq, the founder of Oogyaa, believes the worst-case scenario for e-scooter operators across the board would be the end of the industry altogether.
“I am very hopeful that it won't come to that stage, but with the announcement made, I can't help but think about it to such extent,” he expressed during an interview at his workspace in Bukit Damansara, prior to the date the e-scooter restrictions come into effect.
He adds that the ruling has caused confusion to many observing the update. Currently, there is no actual ban on the usage of e-scooters and that it is centered towards usage within Kuala Lumpur.
"The statement only notes about usage on roads but did not specify if bike lanes and sidewalks are an exception,” probing him to further gain clarity on what sort of guidelines are required to be discussed and refined further.
Leading up to actual date where e-scooters will be stringently monitored, Humayun had been busy equipping himself with enough up-to-date information, staying in touch with other operators and keeping discussions active with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) – the agency that granted him the opportunity to grow his business here in Malaysia in the first place.
Referencing closely at how unmanned aerial vehicles a.k.a. drones were regulated, he shared that MDEC is said to be collaborating with the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) to address issues that have been raised concerning the electric powered transport in the past month.
“We [e-scooter operators] will be taking proper measures based on the same path that drone operators had to go through, but they [agencies] need all operators to come together and give a proposal, so it can be escalated to the authorities further,” said Humayun.
“The matter is still very grey, so we will just be monitoring the actions taken by the authorities as we go because it's too early to say exactly what operators can do for certain.”
While some operators continue to offer their services, Oogyaa has – at the time of the interview – put a restraint on making its e-scooters available for public use.
A solution for short distance traveling
Even before the announcement was made, Humayun had to endure the toughest challenge any entrepreneur would want to avoid, especially when a business is just about to launch, namely having products dormant “in the warehouse collecting dust.”
“I was ready to do a roll-out by March last year, but that didn’t happen. It was only in August that I was able to properly launch the e-scooters.”
Having noted that public response was great, Oogyaa (being relatively new to the market) released around 50 e-scooters located across KL’s golden triangle – notably around KLCC, Bukit Bintang and along Jalan Ampang.
Humayun, who previously worked at German automation company, Siemens (spending a major part of his career in Siemens Energy), had the opportunity to travel the world before deciding on starting a business of his own.
“I started looking at what was hip and happening in the last quarter of 2018, and the trend and interest in e-scooters was picking up. It looked very promising because people are becoming more aware of their carbon footprints, which is genuinely why I decided to go for it,” he said.
“Then, I started looking into where I can introduce this. At the time, I was based in Dubai and while the Middle East is a good market, the weather does not allow for the business to sustain for most of the year, it’s just so hot. America was too big of a feat and Europe was already way ahead on e-scooters where there were already a lot of companies to compete with.
“Then I started looking at Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia). Singapore was too strict with their rulings, Thailand has a good market but there was a language barrier and Jakarta (Indonesia) lacked infrastructure like sidewalks and bicycle lanes, basically the motorbikes also already dominated the city which is too risky,” he added, explaining why Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the place where he would kick start his company.
He would eventually join the Malaysia Tech Entrepreneur Programme (MTEP), backed by MDEC for tech founders who aim to capture the Asean market, pitching on the potential of e-scooters and how they are able to boost the Malaysian economy and empower the society in the long run.
Whilst sharing about the technology that goes behind Oogyaa’s scooters and the back-end of the app that helps to support it, Humayun highlights he is working with the same company that has been supporting his tech in developing a module for a self-driving kit to power his newer scooter units in the future.
“Once it's perfected and up and running, it will be patented. The reason behind having to push for this is so that it could be used for food deliveries within a specific area. It’s also to help make the process of picking up the electric scooters much easier if you are within a certain hotspot,” he added.
“Getting from A to B is not an issue, but the issue occurs in mitigating the external factors that suddenly interrupts the journey. For instance, potholes, human intervention and the likes. So we still need to work on it further before it’s ready and safe for release.”
Green credentials
Right now, the convenient and environmentally friendly marketed e-scooters seen as the next best thing for short-distance journeys is set to crawl through the battle of public opinion where the end is uncertain.
As we determine between boon or bane, one can’t help but to wonder what kind of opportunities we are really losing by exerting so much energy into classifying tech innovations as disruptive.
Sure, there is the fact that these e-scooters can be dumped haphazardly outside, much like its electric powered public sharing predecessors, but looking at it through a separate context, do we take it out on the car if the driver behind the wheel is reckless?
Of course, a precise level of regulation is needed when the public is of concern, but are we clouding our judgements way too fast when it comes to the state of micro mobility?
"Electric scooters are the future of transportation. We cannot rely on fossil fuels for the rest of our lives, therefore the whole world is shifting to electric vehicles, regardless whether it's electric cars, electric bikes, etc.
“However, the importance of it is not widely emphasised here yet. I don't think there is even a subsidy or tax reliefs for electric car owners,” shared Humayun.
“We [operators] are even thinking about getting (an) association made, such as a Scooter Operator Association of Malaysia because if there is a concern to be raised with regards to technology and experience, discussions will have more weight if it is done with a majority rather than in silos,” he added, noting how he and the e-scooter community hopes to help change the mindset, “even at a small scale, we will keep continuing.” – The Vibes, January 1, 2021
*Follow more updates on the fate of e-Scooters at The Vibes
