More self-service at bars – a tap at every table

When heading out to their local watering hole for a drink, some customers prefer to serve themselves. We’ve highlighted Amsterdam’s Minibar and the table-top taps of Pilsen’s Unique Bars. Offering a self-service system that can be retrofitted anywhere is the TableTender by TableTap.

The TableTender system, available in Britain and the United States, is designed and built for each specific venue. There’s a tap (or several) located at each table, which allows patrons to pour at their leisure—to a point. The system is designed to comply with drinking regulations, shutting off after dispensing around 11 pints of beer and only resuming once a waiter has checked the table. The amount dispensed is displayed on a meter at the table, as well as recorded on the proprietor’s database to monitor sales and consumption by hour, day, month and table.

Like installation, pricing is bespoke, but for a ballpark figure: the first bar to install the system paid USD 110,000, excluding a monthly fee for maintenance and software licensing. While the upfront costs may be steep, ease of drinks purchase combined with lower costs for wait staff could make for a profitable addition to bars seeking to stand out from the competition.

Website: www.tabletap.co.ukwww.thetabletap.com
Contact: www.tabletap.co.uk/contactjeff.libby@thetabletap.com

Source : http://springwise.com/food_beverage/tabletap/

Bicycle repair shops on wheels

With cycling gaining ground as a regular mode of transportation, flat tires and broken chains are on the up, too. Which creates an opportunity for bike-loving entrepreneurs: mobile bike repair shops.

In the Netherlands, for example, we’ve spotted companies like Fix Fiets and Bikemobiel, both of which do house calls in vans or trucks outfitted as mobile workshops. Service is even more mobile (and emission-free) in Cologne and Berlin, where stranded cyclists can call a ‘Radambulanz’—a cycling mechanic with a small trailer containing tools and spare parts for fixing flat tires and performing other common repairs.

While some mobile repair services tack on a small trip charge for coming to a customer’s home or workplace, rates are generally comparable to those charged by brick and mortar bike shops. And although they’ve been popping up in Europe over the past few years, mobile services are far from commonplace. Time to launch a well-branded Geek Squad of bike fixers? (Related: Vending machines for bicycle partsIn the US, the AAA will be offering roadside assistance for cyclists in Oregon and Idaho.)

Website: www.fixfiets.nlwww.bikemobiel.nlwww.fahrradambulanz.comwww.radambulanz.de

Spotted by: Martina Meng — Raymond Kollau — Judy McRae

Source : http://springwise.com/weekly/2009-07-29.htm#mobilebikerepair

Carte blanche : Mam Vëlo op d'Schaff vum Denis Scuto

Source : http://news.rtl.lu/commentaire/carteblanche/29815.html

Wéi vill Anerer bedeelegt sech den Denis Scuto, an dësen Tour de France-Zäiten, un der Aktioun „Mam Vëlo op d’Schaff”, déi den Transportministère dëst Joer nees an Zesummenaarbecht mat Partner wéi der CFL, dem Verkéiersverbond an der Lëtzebuerger Velosinitiativ organiséiert. Seng Erfahrungen hunn en zu dëser Carte blanche inspiréiert.

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Bicycle parking pod with lockers and solar shower

Numerous bicycle stations have appeared on our pages before, including Cycle Center in Chicago, Bikestation in California, Bike Central in New Zealand and Cycle2City in Australia. Adding to Australia’s bike station innovation comes the Green Pod, a modular facility from Brisbane’s Penny Farthings Pushbikes.

About the size of a parking space for one car, the Green Pod comes in two configurations: one with a single shower and changing room along with 10 lockers and parking for as many bicycles, and the other with double those facilities. The pod features a solar hot water system, electronic locking system, LED lighting activated by motion sensors, timed showers and a grey water treatment unit that discharges grey water into green areas. The unit can be integrated into indoor or outdoor applications, and it operates on a 12V DC system that can be powered by solar panels on the roof. Also part of the pod is a self-cleaning mechanism that can detect when no one’s inside and lock its doors for some self-cleaning, according to a report in Catapult. Access is via swipe card for registered users.

The first Green Pod is now being used at Queensland University of Technology’s Kelvin Grove campus, and Penny Farthing is also talking with Queensland Rail about tailoring a pod for bicyclist commuters, Catapult reported. Indeed, the modularity of the Green Pod’s design and its diminutive stature give it the potential to be more flexible and easily accommodated than many built-in solutions. One to partner with early and bring to the bicycling masses near you…? (Related: Self-serve parking bay for bikes.)

Website: www.pushbikeparking.com/green-pod
Contact: info@pushbikeparking.com

Source : http://springwise.com/transportation/greenpod/