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"In fact street-kitchen-bikes are not a one of a kind phenomenon. Japanese architect Hiroyuki Shinohara has conducted a study of bicycles altered to various needs and functions driving around on the streets of China. The list of functions is everything from bookshops and ice cream vendors on wheels, to garbage collectors and more sophisticated alterations with water tanks built on bikes. The full study can be found in the upcoming 2nd issue of the Chilean architecture magazine 'Materia Arquitectura'. In short, Shinohara is describing how these bikes are mainly used by inhabitants from the lower levels of the Chinese society. Many of these bikes are used for retail purposes and usually congregate in busy back alleys and entrances to parks and residential compounds in order to attract customers."

"What is surprising is that Uber's user experience affects not only drivers but also the design of cities, as well as the lives of those residing in them. Jarrett Walker, a public-transit consultant, has noted that ride-sharing apps have "transformed customer experience-by taking the friction out of the hailing, routing, and paying." But those apps don't "seem to be transforming the fundamental nature of the task, or its potential to be profitable." This is because, very simply, "transportation happens in physical space. The dominant element of cost is the time it takes to drive someone to their destination, and to travel empty between jobs. The app does nothing to change this." Think of the experience of waiting for an Uber driver, in which you follow a single vehicle making turns on an empty Google Map. Everything is evacuated from the picture except for streets: there is nothing standing between you and the vehicle but time and empty space. For a consumer, the image is ethereal. But the streets are actually full of buildings, people, and other cars. Getting around in a city requires taking up space, which by nature is subject to scarcity. Every new passenger diminishes the experience for the existing pool of customers."

""We have no clear idea how they actually used our vehicles," said an Orix public relations official. "The only thing we can say is that data show a number of people rent cars without driving them.""

"A railway operator has issued a sincere apology for the "tremendous nuisance" caused by a train departing 20 seconds early, surprising even a nation renowned for both punctuality and politeness. Metropolitan Intercity Railway Co. said the Tsukuba Express train linking Tokyo and its northern suburbs pulled out of Minami-Nagareyama Station at 9:44:20 instead of 9:44:40. "We deeply apologize for causing a tremendous nuisance to customers," the company said. "There was no complaint from customers over this incident," the firm said, adding that no one missed the train due to the premature departure. Japanese railway services, including bullet trains, are famous for their world-beating punctuality. Even the slightest delay prompts an effusive apology from train or station personnel, which often lasts longer than the holdup itself. With trains running the same route every few minutes to cope with huge numbers of passengers, even brief delays can back up the whole network and lead to overcrowding. Stations in Tokyo employ dozens of staff - with their famous white gloves - to ensure the prompt departure of trains and to manage the crush during rush hour."

"'We take rusty old junk and we put love into it.' The old Motor City has a unique style in bicycles these days: from fat wheels and fake fuel tanks to stretched cycles with powerful sound systems - and even a family-sized BBQ"

"Takeaway food delivery service Just Eat is going to start using robots to deliver meals to customers through a new trial. The trial, due to commence in the next few months, will see robots built by Starship Technologies cruising along the streets of London with Just Eat deliveries inside them. The self-driving robots - created by Skype cofounders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis - can only make deliveries to consumers that are relatively close by to the restaurant."

"The map looks like a subway map and shows the best places to have coffee near each subway station. According to a blog by Butterfruit Labs founder Nirmal Banerjee, the locations were chosen based on factors like stop proximity, type of beans, equipment, and customer reviews. If there were multiple stores, the original or most popular location of that store chain was selected, and if some areas didn't have great options, Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts were chosen."

"We mainly know drive-thrus from fast food restaurants, but in London shoppers can now pick up their purchases while sitting in their car as department store Selfridges offers the first drive-thru service for luxury products. Through the store's the so-called Click & Collect service, customers can buy the items of their choice online and select a day to pick them up."

"Ahead of CES 2014 in Las Vegas next week, Mercedes-Benz has partnered with Pebble Technology to create an interconnected vehicle that can provide enhanced vehicle diagnostic awareness and multi-sensory notifications. This partnership will give the company access to the latest hardware and APIs offered by the Silicon Valley-based company allowing them to develop innovative apps of their own over time. At its CES booth, Mercedes-Benz will demonstrate how an intelligently networked vehicle can benefit the customer, as well as how it becomes a part of the "internet of things." Developers at Mercedes have also reinvented the Digital DriveStyle app so that it can communicate with Pebble Smartwatches to access information about fuel level, door-lock status, and vehicle location."

"In an effort to ease pedestrian traffic during peak shopping hours, Meadowhall has installed side-by-side walkways marked 'Slow Lane' and 'Fast Lane' so both window shoppers and customers in a rush can both move at their desired pace."

"Onewheel's hidden sensors and mobile integration let users customize their ride and re-explore urban riding"

"After Mashable reported on Saturday that Swagway advised its customers to take a break from hoverboarding, the company now says that direction was the result of a "miscommunication" and its products are safe to use. "Due to an apparent miscommunication, there have been inaccurate reports about Swagway's position related to the CPSC's recent declaration. To be clear, we did not announce any official position related to this," the company said in a statement today. "We stand by our products and are confident that Swagway still remains the safest on the market.""

"But that doesn't mean San Franciscans can rent Scoot rides in all parts of San Francisco. The company has drawn a red line around the centrally located but poverty-ravished Tenderloin and in parts of nearby Chinatown, preventing customers from dropping off scooters there. The start-up, acquired in June by Santa Monica-based Bird, says its no-parking zones are "in compliance with the kick scooter pilot program" overseen by SFMTA. But the Tenderloin, which is home to a large homeless population, and Chinatown are two of the seven "communities of concern" that Scoot pledged to prioritize serving as a condition of joining the pilot program."

More than 100 trees will adorn the gridded facade of IKEA's city-centre Vienna Westbahnhof store, which will have no car parking spaces. Currently under construction in the Austrian capital, the car-free IKEA store is designed by local studio Querkraft Architekten to address "radically changed customer and mobility behaviours". IKEA Vienna Westbahnhof, which will have a grid-like form enveloped by greenery, will provide on-the-day delivery services and be easily accessible by foot or public transport.

""The whole building is geared towards pedestrians, subway and streetcar riders, and cyclists-there is no space for cars," the company writes in German on a store website. The location is next to a tram stop and a three-minute walk from a subway station; like other parts of the city, it's easily accessible by bike. Anything that customers can't easily carry away will be delivered from a new logistics center farther away (and soon, as with other Ikea stores, those deliveries will happen via electric delivery vans). "Our concept is that parking spaces are not needed, because there are no products to buy that require a car," the website says. The company's stores in other large cities are beginning to take similar approaches; there's a store in Manhattan that serves solely as a showroom. Without the need for parking, the building has room for other uses. "It influenced our design radically," says architect Jakob Dunkl, the owner of Querkraft, the Vienna-based firm that worked on the project, comparing it to another Ikea store in Hamburg that's a similar size, but devotes the top floors to parking. "Instead of two parking floors, we have two hostel floors. And there's a huge roof terrace which is open to the public." The ground level will house retailers from an older building that was displaced by the new construction."

"Maven, the car-sharing company spun-off from General Motors last year, is launching a new monthly service for its users in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Previously, Maven only offered hourly or daily pricing options for its car-sharing fleet. This new service, called Maven Reserve, is geared toward users who want the feel of car ownership, but only in month-sized chunks. Customers who reserve a GM vehicle through the new monthly service will also receive a dedicated parking space for the duration of the reservation and a personalized walk-through of the vehicle. Insurance and $100 worth of gas are also included, and there are no membership or application fees."

"The concept combines a mobile workspace with the Dutch cargo bike. This means that 'urban nomads' no longer have to use their bike to get to their favorite workplace, but their bike becomes a workplace in itself. The cargo part of the bicycle can be transformed into a desk to work on with your laptop. Not bothered with colleagues or loud speaking coffee drinkers, this could be the ultimate form of mobile workplaces…"

"Way before Delhi and Mumbai, Kolkata was the first Indian city to have the metro train. When Kolkata metro was started, in 1984, the rail served on a single line only, between Esplanade & Netaji Bhawan. The idea for a metro to serve this congested city was conceived as far back as 1949."

"La culture « deco » ou l'art de personnaliser des objets de la vie courante avec des ornements originaux et branchés est très en vogue au Japon, en particulier chez les jeunes filles. Celles-ci agrémentent volontiers leur téléphone portable, leur appareil photo numérique et leur trousse à crayons de paillettes et de perles de verre ou de cristal, avec une ingéniosité et une imagination étonnantes. Mais les jeunes Japonaises ne sont pas les seules à chercher à égayer leur vie de tous les jours. Depuis plus de trente ans, les routiers de l'Archipel ont développé une culture « deco » bien à eux appelée decotora ou art des camions décorés. Certains dépensent des trésors d'énergie et de patience pour transformer leurs véhicules en de surprenantes œuvres d'art qui illuminent les routes du Japon et attirent toujours l'attention, partout où elles passent. L'art des camions décorés est devenu célèbre à partir de la fin des années 1970, grâce à une série de dix films désopilants intitulés Torakku yarô (Les routiers) qui ont été réalisés entre 1975 et 1979 par le cinéaste Suzuki Norifumi pour les studios Tôei. Beaucoup de camionneurs ont suivi l'exemple des deux héros de ces films qui parcourent le Japon à bord d'un énorme poids lourd haut en couleurs. Ils se sont mis à décorer leur propre véhicule avec une profusion d'éclairages et de peintures aux couleurs vives. L'engouement pour l'art des decotora a pris l'ampleur d'un phénomène social."