Jakarta's own information 'supir taksi' highway
Jakarta's own information 'supir taksi' highway
By Amir Sidharta
JAKARTA (JP): Personally, I'm all for Bill Clinton and Al
Gore's information highway. However, Guy Kawasaki's Wise Guy
column, published in the July 1994 issue of MacWorld, provided me
with some alternative insights.
In the article, the software genius identified five potholes
to the creation of the highway. The first is that the highway is
being built by "the wrong kind of people." He further explains
that "the inventions that changed the world -- such as the
telephone, the computer and the airplane -- were created in the
garages and labs of nerdy scientists and engineers, not in
investment banks or boardrooms."
Second, it is questionable whether there are enough programs
to cater to the 500 channels of video programming that the
information superhighway plan boasts. Even now, with the 20 or so
channels available on a standard cable television service in the
United States, we always catch ourselves constantly pressing the
buttons of the remote, flipping through boring channels.
The next two potholes place importance in the reality of the
experience. According to the information superhighway theory,
many consumers could not be bothered to go shopping at the mall,
and would rather tune in to the shopping channel and order their
goods by electronic means.
Kawasaki is right. How could you even conceive of relying on a
handful of businessmen (note the stress on men) to decide on how
Americans, and especially women, want to shop.
Could you imagine husband and wife cuddling peacefully
together by the television on weekends? All right, lets say, some
couples could survive the fights for the remote control. They
order their sweaters, and receive packages via next-day express
mail. Whoops, wrong size. "No hon, that's not the color I
wanted."
They call the merchants back. A never-ending multi-layered
voice mail device answers. Finally, you get a human customer
service representative, who apologies and offers you a money back
guarantee or to exchange your goods. You send in your wrong
orders and wait for the right ones to be sent. History repeats
itself, and you are bummed. "Get it? I guess you had to be
there!"
Kawasaki has got it. Here is the punch line, in his words,
"Shopping is fun. It's a sport, It's entertainment. People want
to get dressed up, jump in a car, go to the mall, push strollers
around, eat fast food and ice cream, and shop until they or their
baby drop." Meet me at the mall!
Pothole number 4 states that "books won't die." Kawasaki
points out that part of the information superhighway was
developed with the assumption that books will die. However, the
fact is that he himself -- a self proclaimed "stay-at-home
Macintosh househusband" -- rarely uses his CD-ROMs. That is not
something you would think of a computer freak who is rich enough
and hence probably has all the time in the world to fiddle around
with each and every CD-ROM produced.
Although he admits that there are some cool educational CD-
ROMS for children, he claims that he has "yet to see a CD-ROM
worth buying" for himself. Books still reign supreme. "You can
drop them; you can read them in low light; and you don't need to
charge their batteries or plug them in." CD-ROMs are a hassle,
and he'd simply rather use his wall outlet for his lava lamp.
Finally, it boils down to implementation, the fifth pothole.
Kawasaki simply points out that there are still many parts of
Washington D.C. which do not have cable television. The
infrastructure is far from ready.
Now, when a country as advanced as the United States is not
ready for the information superhighway, when do you expect such a
thing to get here? Well, while the Internet has reached
Indonesia, such hi-tech devices still reach a certain segment of
the population only. A small number of people working for large
institutions are using it here, and as far as I am concerned,
they have not used it optimally. I have not subscribed because I
haven't been able to get through to the customer service numbers
that are available.
Jakarta's version
Instead, I am becoming interested in using Jakarta's own
version of the U.S. information superhighway. I call it the
information 'supir taksi' highway.
A friend of mine has used Jakarta's taxis as her main means of
transportation since she started working seven years ago. The
taxis have, indeed, been efficient and effective. Not only do the
taxis help her get to her job and home everyday, it has perhaps
even helped her get to her current position as the PR manager of
a prominent hotel.
The 'supir taksi' (taxi driver) provide her with customer
feedback. As a taxi driver drives hotel guests around, he absorbs
their praises or complaints about the hotel. Then, as my friend
is driven home, the driver channels the complaints back to her.
The system is perhaps better than the customer satisfaction cards
that guests have to fill out and send in.
If you think about it, riding in a taxi is just like accessing
the Internet. A passenger brings up an issue, and taxi drivers
broadcast the issue to a wide audience. Other passengers respond
and provide the drivers with a wider insight. It certainly
reminds me of receiving junk mail for trivial issues through the
Internet.
Taxi drivers cover a wide and perhaps limitless range of
subjects, from world politics to personal matters. Riding in
taxis has been for the most part rewarding for me as well.
I remember a driver commenting on city planning. "I don't get
it. Why are important business centers located in the middle of
the city? If everybody has to converge in the city center,
wouldn't that made traffic even more congested? Shouldn't
businesses be located on the periphery of the city so as to
relieve the city of traffic? We could connect the centers with a
ring road, right?" a taxi driver once said. Should we suggest
that taxi drivers be included in city planning? They seem to have
a valuable insight into our urban problems.
Come to think of it, I am seriously considering patronizing
the information supir taksi highway more and more. With the
Internet, you need a computer and a telephone line, so that
requires you to be stationary. I don't know if the mobile phones
available here can yet be used with a modem, but even if they
can, I would not be able to afford it.
There is no doubt that potholes exist in this system. Not only
that, but also sudden jolts and brakes throughout the ride.
However, I bet Kawasaki would be more optimistic toward this
system. In contrast to the U.S. information superhighway,
Jakarta's information 'supir taksi' highway is already in
existence. There is no need to build an extremely expensive
infrastructure. You need not worry about insufficient good
programs. Here you have no chance to choose; you get what you
get. The need for the reality of the experience is no concern.
Riding in a taxi, believe me, is a real experience.
Admittedly, some taxi drivers can be overbearing. They tend to
ramble on and on! However, that is not any different from the
Internet, right? In one day, you could get any amount of
messages. You could get 50 one day, 550 the next day, and 1,100
the day after. Of which merely ten percent, if that, you might
find useful.
By using Jakarta's version of an information superhighway, you
remain mobile and you obtain information as you get to your
destination. Sit back and relax, you're on the information 'supir
taksi' highway. It's cheap; the price is included in your taxi
fare. Moreover, three-in-one is of no concern to users of this
system.
On one hand, if you are an expatriate learning Indonesian,
your taxi driver can be a great companion with whom you can
practice your Indonesian. On the other hand, your input might
also be useful to your driver. Try it at your convenience. No
subscription necessary. Money back, however, is not guaranteed.