Business transport solutions for smaller businesses can be a huge hassle and cost. Car Fleets are expensive to run and often result in cars sitting around with limited use, costing money in parking, maintenance, petrol and depreciation. Not to mention the environmental impact of having those cars on the road.

Even so, many employees look to their company to provide transport as part of their package. The good news is there are now options that won’t cost the earth. One solution, as Dave Gravina from design agency Digital Eskimo explains, can be a mixed mode transport approach.

Digital Eskimo provides a fleet of the latest Dahon Speed Pro push bikes for its employees to use to get to and from work.

The "eskimos" ride the fold-up push bikes to meetings and for errands, and when they need to venture further afield than their inner city habitat they ride to special GoGet Car share cars parked throughout Sydney (and Melbourne) then fold the bike, pop it into the boot and drive to their destination.

They then return the car to the parking "pod" (special parking spots that GoGet has secured) and cycle back to the studio for a fraction of the cost of having a company car on the road.

When an Eskimo needs to travel afield they:

1. Book the car before you go (paying as little as $6 per hour too!) using the GoGet website
2. Ride to the car, fold-up the bike and pop it into the boot
3. Drive away…

The car share service is cost-efficient (often much cheaper than a cab). The cars are fuel efficient, and using the service reduces the number of cars on the road - replacing the need for company vehicles and demand for taxis on the road.

Dave had this to say about the Eskimos’ system: "The key to sustainable design is a systems based approach. It’s about mobility not cars. It’s about looking for intelligent service models rather than products. I really think this is the future of transport.

"I look forward to a Sydney that has thousands of foldups that you just use and return to their pod throughout the city. In some ways that’s Amsterdam now, we’ve got some catching up to do in this country!"