Mixes 'green' image with practicality

Apple is providing bicycles to people working at the company's Cupertino headquarters, a Brazilian news site observes. The vehicles are reportedly all-aluminum with three gears, and equipped with saddlebags for a person to carry belongings. Workers pick them up as needed at the entrance to each building.

The purpose of the initiative is thought to be speeding up travel in Cupertino, particularly as the core campus alone contains several buildings. Recently Apple leased even more space at a separate Cupertino complex, one big enough to hold up to 1,300 people. The company may also be quietly mimicking Google, which has offered bikes for years.

Apple's long-term plans for Cupertino include a massive new headquarters, scheduled to be completed in 2015. Nicknamed the "Mothership," it will consist of a four-story ringed building with curved windows wrapping around the exterior. It should have space for some 12,000 workers, plus an auditorium and a cafeteria seating 3,000 people.

by MacNN Staff