In this era of crowdsourcing and customisation, consumers are accustomed to having their say on matters large and small. Demonstrating that customer input can be applied to just about everything, a car park is giving its customers a say in how its stairwells smell.

UK parking provider NCP recently adopted new technology that helps it combat the "special" smell so commonly found in parking stairwells. Gone will be the olfactory suggestion of recent unsavoury activities, replaced instead by the aroma of roses, freshly baked bread, roast chicken or some other pleasant smell. All that remains is for consumers to choose which delectable odour they'd prefer, because rather than pick one in autonomous fashion, the company is asking its customers to vote instead. So, users of four trial NCP garages—in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Leeds—are now invited to chime in with their preferences on the company's site. The smells with the most votes will be implemented, and if the program is really successful, NCP will roll it out nationwide.

Need we say more? Let the crowds have their say whenever possible, and you'll rarely go wrong; fail to do so, and you may not like what you hear! ;-)

Website: www.ncp.co.uk/stairwellsmells
Contact: www.ncp.co.uk/contactus.aspx

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

A new lightweight electric bicycle with eco-iconic looks is firmly targeting would-be bicycle commuters who are put off by the thought of turning up to work in need of a shower.

Gocycle, set to launch this month, was designed by former F1 design engineer Richard Thorpe, using an injection-molded, lightweight magnesium alloy that's stronger than plastic, at a fraction of the price of carbon fiber. The bike’s chain is completely encased—so no grease on trousers—and side-mounted wheels allow a flat to be changed in a matter of minutes. Gocycle also disassembles into a soft bag or white hard case for portability and easy storage in small apartments.

For a bike of its size and weight, Gocycle’s most innovative feature is the micro-sized electric motor in its front wheel hub, which switches on with the push of a button. An in-frame battery pack holds 20 minutes worth of power; more than enough to help cyclists up a hill without breaking into a sweat.

Supporting its drive to get people to switch from four wheels to two, the company offers a Gocyle-to-Work scheme for companies who wish to provide their employees with a healthier and greener commute. One to bring to urban cyclists—and their employers—across the globe? (Related: Full-service bike station for commuting cyclists.)

Website: www.gocycle.com
Contact: sales@gocycle.com

There are few things more exciting to us here at Springwise than seeing good ideas come together, and that's exactly what we had occasion to spot earlier this month. Zipcar—the car-sharing innovator we've covered on numerous occasions already—just announced a partnership with Zimride—also no stranger to our pages—to bring an integrated ride-sharing system to college and university campuses.

Debuting a few weeks ago at Stanford University, the integrated service combines Zipcar's car-sharing program with Zimride's Facebook-based carpool matching system to make it easier for college students, faculty and staff to seek, offer and share rides. Zipcar already operates car-sharing programs at more than 120 US colleges and universities. To share a ride, members reserving a car can now automatically post the date, time and destination of their trip to the Zimride campus community online. Zimride's route-matching algorithm takes over from there, finding and notifying users looking for such a ride. Zimride members, meanwhile, can now find a local Zipcar to share through a customized campus Zimride website or Facebook application, making it possible for them to carpool even if they don't own a car. Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith explains: "We chose to partner with Zimride because their innovative and scalable platform is a great foundation for building a national network of rides. Zipcar fills the car ownership gap for the Zimride model, since people most likely to ride-share are those that are least likely to own a car." The two companies aim to roll out the integrated service to many more campuses in the coming months.

Every Zipcar takes 15 to 20 privately owned vehicles off the road, while Zimride has enabled 20 percent carpool adoption and savings of more than 500,000 lbs of CO2 and USD 200,000 in vehicle operating costs, the companies say. Add to that the fact that there are some 13 million faculty, staff and students on more than 2,500 parking-strapped campuses nationwide, according to the US Department of Education, and the potential impact becomes clear. How long before something like this comes to large companies, urban areas and the rest of the congested world...?

Websites: www.zipcar.com — www.zimride.com
Contacts: universities@zipcar.com — info@zimride.com

British supermarket chain Waitrose dates back to the early 1900s, when bicycle and horse and cart were its chosen methods of delivery. Now—proving once again the old adage that everything that goes around comes around—much the same methods have returned as part of the company's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

Waitrose has already appeared on our pages once before for its customer-directed giving program, and earlier this year it launched a series of new green initiatives that include eco-minded handcarts and bicycles for use delivering groceries to local consumers. At the store in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, for example, eco-handcarts have been added as a way to help boost the number of delivery slots available to customers without increasing the number of vans on the road. The specially designed carts are intended for use delivering to customers who live within a mile of the store, and can keep products frozen and chilled for up to two hours. Waitrose branches in Lichfield, Parkstone and Droitwich, meanwhile, have also introduced eco-bicycles following a successful trial last year at Waitrose Cambridge. The eco-bicycles are electric bikes with a maximum distance charge of 30 miles, and are intended for delivery to customers who live within 15 miles of the store. Finally, in a bid to help consumers adopt greener habits themselves, Waitrose has also introduced cycle trailers for loan at 36 of its stores. The trailers are loaned out free of charge to any customers who wish to use them, the company says.

It's no longer unusual to see smaller stores using bicycles for delivery, but for a large national chain like Waitrose to embrace such methods is a testament to the growing demand for greener deliveries. Other grocers around the world: turn off your engines! ;-) (Related: Cargo bikes for greener business deliveries — Bicycle trailers on loan at IKEA — Local produce, delivered by bicycle.)

Website: www.waitrose.com
Contact: customer_service@waitrose.co.uk

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Consumers have been able to book taxis by cell phone for some time now, but a new, Virginia-based service aims to expand that capability with a comprehensive—and nationwide—paperless approach that includes mobile ride tracking and payment as well.

RideCharge allows consumers to book a ride, follow the taxi's progress toward their location and then pay the fare using their mobile phone. Users of the service can schedule their ride either online or via a mobile application available for iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile. To do that, they enter the time and place they'd like to be picked up along with where they'll need to be dropped off; RideCharge then displays options offered by participating taxi, sedan, limo and shuttle services in the area that meet the user's criteria. (In areas that don't yet have an affiliated company, phone numbers for local transportation companies are displayed instead.) After comparing options and making a selection, users can then view the status of their ride both online and in the mobile application, and a reminder is sent an hour before the pickup is due to take place. Finally, at the conclusion of the ride, users can pay both fare and tip with their mobile device and download an e-receipt, eliminating the need to keep track of paper receipts for reimbursement. Included in the charge is RideCharge's own fee of USD 1.50 per trip, according to Forbes.com.

Aimed at business travellers, RideCharge promises to help corporate travel managers track and control ground travel expenses with a unified, electronic approach to what has been a highly fragmented and paper-based service. Currently, however, it serves only major US cities; one to partner with or emulate in other parts of the world? (Related: Unlimited taxi rides for 48 euros per month.)

Website: www.ridecharge.com
Contact: info@ridecharge.com

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie