INTERVIEW: Can Micromobility-Sharing Work in Malaysia?

An Interview with Johan Sammy, Head of Expansion and Partnership, Anywheel

by Jade Chan, The Star Malaysia

Jade: Can you provide the details about the e-mobility project for Bukit Damansara (purpose, implementation, follow-ups)?

Bukit Damansara is a very interesting project for us and will be the first in Kuala Lumpur to provide sustainable urban mobility for first/last mile connectivity and short distance travel to the community. What we aim to achieve here is to create awareness and getting the local community to adopt the new mode of travel instead of driving. Our priority is to connect residents & employees (business district) to the MRT stations, and residents & employees to retail outlets or places of interest in Bukit Damansara. The challenge here will be the road condition, gradients and traffic, so we are still in the midst of identifying the operating zones, connectivity and routes that are safe for users to travel using our scooters. We expect to complete the study by end January and we will present the proposal to DBKL for their consent to operate. We are looking at end-Feb or March to kick start this trial.

 

Jade: I understand Anywheel had several e-scooters available for use at the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum in Penang. How was the reception to Anywheel e-scooters in Penang?

The response was overwhelming with strong support from MBPP’s Mayor and Urbanice Malaysia. We had 70 scooters within the vicinity of SPICE Convention Centre and we had more than 1000 users downloading the app and testing the scooters over the course of the event.

Read more >>>HERE

Malaysia too hot to cycle in? It is more a mindset, says this Dutch cyclist (NST Online)

On Saturday, NST Online conducted a poll on social media, asking Malaysians whether they were interested in using a new bicycle lane linking the suburbs of Wangsa Maju to the KLCC area which City Hall said would be completed in a year.

A total of 2,400 of our readers answered the poll, and when voting closed, it was revealed that 50.2 per cent said they would not use the bicycle lane, while 49.8 per cent said they were interested.

As the issue unfolded, there were many comments on the articles suggesting why cycling is still not a common practice in Malaysia. Safety and poor infrastructure as well as dangerous drivers and narrow Kuala Lumpur roads were cited as some reasons why Malaysians don’t cycle to work, and why cycling lanes were not suited for Malaysia. Yet, there were other naysayers who said that the Malaysian climate was not conducive to cycling, and any effort would be doomed to fail.

Read more >>> HERE