Having launched in Montreal, London and Melbourne (with varying success), the Bixi cycle hire concept has introduced the faulty button to our cities. Anyone who experiences issues with their hired bicycle simply presses the red button on return to a dock, and the bike is locked from further use with maintenance scheduled.
What if this simple idea was applied throughout our cities? Faulty pedestrian crossings, train carriages, travelcard readers, elevators and escalators could all be reported by the simple touch of a button, allowing those who run our cities more accurate information on its operation.
Much of our urban interactions are dependant on external devices, and when they go wrong the cost can be considerable, both financially and logistically. If we were able to better generate information on the functionality of our cities infrastructure, might we be able to maintain more efficient cities, and prevent large-scale issues from arising?
Photo: Saketh Garuda
