Hothead: Bring Octopus home

Before the Britishers handed over their last outpost in Asia, Hong Kong (HK), they had built bridges, technical marvels like long underwater tunnels between islands, and a mass transit system to make other big world cities envious. They also began work on a new airport — it was completed after they left in 1997— that is far more modern than many airports in any of the western metropolises. Many of the projects that kicked off during the British administration could be completed only after the Chinese took over HK. The big ones include the magnificent Chek Lap Kok Airport, and its smart airport express train, which could rival the Eurostar train that runs between London and Paris.

The big question is why did the British not build many such structures in India when they ruled it for 200 years? Was it absence of technology or is it that the British did not want to invest much in a country they had decided to quit after the big war?

Difficult to say, but a visit to Hong Kong brings alive British efficiency and Chinese discipline at their best. The city is extremely clean and throbs with colour and optimism. After the SARS epidemic, cleanliness has become an obsession for the administration. It does not want another messy epidemic to hit their economy and tourism. Its hard work has paid off. The meltdown the economy experienced a few years ago is a thing of the past. The real estate prices have picked up once again and its integration with the Chinese mainland has given the HK economy a glow that seems immune from global economic cycles.

Although local newspapers like the South China Morning Post, continue to crib about the growing pollution, but HK is a revelation for someone who gets stuck on Mumbai roads and wonders whether there is a way out from it during lifetime. To borrow a phrase from a friend, Hong Kong is like "New York on hormones", with its tall buildings, efficient transport systems and a local government that works. After its takeover in 1997, the Chinese leadership has taken pains to show that they could manage "two systems in one country" without much of a problem. This could be a strategy to convince the Koumintang Party in Taipei that their system would remain intact even when they decide to go the way of HK and Macau, but the fact is that these special administrative regions (SARs) are working well, if not better.

The city is modern and it has been able to judiciously use IT and high communication technology to make life simpler for its people. The Octopus card is the best example of this integration. A rechargeable, contactless, stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in HK, it can be used for paying for your bus, train and ferry fares, parking payments, etc. Launched in 1997 to collect fares for its mass transit system, it has grown in its usage to make payment for convenience stores, super markets, fast-food restaurants, on street parking meters, and many other services. It is also used for access control to schools and offices. The Octopus came about when all the transport companies got together to make a card that could work in every kind of transport system. Based on radio frequency identification chip technology, its success lies in its simplicity. To buy a card one does not need any identity papers and they can be recharged from anywhere in the city. A measure of its success is that every one in HK has an Octopus, whether the person is a CEO or a blue-collared worker.

A card of this nature could be extremely useful in a country like India where there is widespread corruption and inefficiencies are built-in. An Octopus card could help to do so many things without the intervention of the babus. We could adapt to our needs and conditions. Besides transport fare, it could be used in ration shops to buy kerosene oil and foodgrains. It could be used to pay electricity bills, house tax, parking fares, etc. Governments and private utilities, with the introduction of smart cards, would be assured they are paid for all the services without fearing financial leakages. However, to implement such a project, the Indian government would have to show vision and determination to surmount the contrary advice the babus would predictably give against the induction of any new, path-breaking technology.