In praise of walking
Not so long ago, I saw something that initially just seemed ridiculous. A bit of a laugh. Upon processing what it was saying, it really angered me, even if it was meant to be partially a joke. It was an Uber advertisement in Kuala Lumpur. The advertisement was displayed in one of KL’s air-conditioned above ground walkways - you know, so cars don’t have to stop for pedestrians on the streets below, and so us humans can avoid breaking even the smallest sweat. The ad was blatantly proposing its service as an alternative to walking. Why walk 10 minutes when you can take an uber for 3 minutes?

“Getting an Uber there is nearly as cheap as walking. And definitely less tiring.”
Woah uber — lay off walking! As if walking in open air is a thing of the past, relegated to only the poorest parts of society who can’t afford to take an Uber– what a terrible thought!
In response, I would like to take a moment to praise walking.
What a great joy and privilege it is to be able to stand on my two legs, to stroll through my neighbourhood, to stride to an exciting meeting, to strut down the high street, to roam a new place, to amble through the woods with a friend, and if I am feeling up to it, to climb a hill or even a mountain.
For the lucky majority of us, our legs can take us pretty much anywhere there is solid ground. This experience is particularly human and, I believe, one to be treasured while we inhabit this earth, and as long as this earth allows us inhabit it. No other animal has evolved to walk so well upright and on two legs. So if we are able why wouldn’t we do it as much as we can and especially given all of its benefits? While it might seem obvious, I thought I would just write down 5 of the numerous benefits of walking;
- Walking is free
- Walking is both good for our minds and our bodies
- Walking is kind to the environment
- Walking requires the most basic infrastructure
- Walking connects us as humans
Also we don’t just walk to do things, using our legs as our mode of transport, but walking is also one of those things we do. We walk to know a place and to feel at home in a place. In Lauren Elkins novel Flâneuse she describes “walking [as] mapping with your feet. It helps you piece a city together, connecting up neighborhoods that might otherwise have remained discrete entities, different planets bound to each other, sustained yet remote.”
So in response to Uber*, no thanks! I think I will walk.
*Since I visited and saw this advertisement, Uber merged with Grab (a southeast Asian ride sharing service), which was more popular with the locals as it allowed for cash payments and was generally cheaper than Uber.
