Yin Ee Kiong

    BY any standard, 1.5 million is a lot of cars. It also means grid lock and a lot of pollution. What are the authorities doing about it?

    Shenzhen city officials have done quite a good job in providing an efficient and affordable public transport system. The Metro is expanding and in time will cover most of the metropolis. There are also provisions for electric buses and this would reduce pollution and noise. Furthermore, the city government has promised to increase cycle lanes throughout Shenzhen. In Shekou we now have cheap bicycle rentals to encourage cycling.

    All these are signs that the authorities are on the ball. While these measures will help reduce pollution, they are not likely to take cars off the road — not in the foreseeable future anyway.

    One must understand the psychology of car ownership in China. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. As recent as 30 years ago car ownership was a rarity. Today everyone wants a car. It has become a status symbol. Those who have money want to flaunt it and what better way than to have a limo parked out front?

    I know someone who bought a car even before he passed his driving test. It was not just any car but a 400,000 yuan (US$61,540) Audi — all because his colleagues have big cars. To “save face,” he could not have a smaller car than they had.

    While there is still an element of status in car ownership in Europe and America, by and large people are going for smaller cars with lower maintenance costs. Many have also opted for eco-friendly cars even though they cost a bit more. And more and more people have decided not to own cars, relying on public transport instead.

    I have discovered a new “freedom” in not owning a car in Shenzhen. I don’t have to stump out a chunk of my money to buy one and after that to maintain it. I don’t have to be at the mercy of mechanics who almost invariably have bad news for my pocket. And, at the end of its useful life, lose more money when I get rid of it. Owning a car is an expensive business. In Shenzhen I have found it so easy and affordable to get around using public transport. I don’t understand why anyone would want a car.

    So what can the authorities do about our clogged roads and air pollution?

    Building more roads is expensive and does not really solve the problem. On the contrary it will only encourage more cars. So that’s something authorities can do — stop building more roads.

    In many advanced countries authorities are making it more and more difficult for car users — simply to discourage them from using their cars. If anything, the authorities have more of an obligation to care for the majority — pedestrian non-car owners.

    Today urban planners are making cities more pedestrian-friendly. This has made these well-planned cities better places to live.

    (The author is a Malaysian published writer and editor, who has lived and worked in 10 countries.)