SF Mayor Ed Lee announces a program that would require shuttle buses used by tech companies to pay up for using stops designated for city public transit. January 6, 2014 3:02 PM PST Last month, a demonstration alongside one of the tech buses contained a bit of street theater, as a union organizer pretended to be a Google employee, spouting off contempt for the city's residents. (Credit: Screenshot by Nick Statt/CNET) Under a new pilot program announced Monday, San Francisco will begin to charge the operators of the tech buses that pick up passengers at stops designated for the city's official public transit and shuttle commuters down to Silicon Valley, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's office confirmed to CNET. Those buses have become a potent symbol of the growing divide between the tech industry and residents of San Francisco and Oakland. The announcement should come as welcome news to demonstrators who have been protesting the rising rents and changing culture of the city. Related posts Protesters break window of Google bus, report says Fake Google employee's fight with protesters we wish was true China workers protest as Nokia-Microsoft deal progresses Defenders of the buses argue that they help ease traffic by getting hundreds or thousands of cars off the road. Critics, though, have been upset that the shuttles block access to the city's Muni stops and force passengers onto the street to load, while using a resource funded by taxpayers. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the plans had been in the works for months, but became a more urgent issue as protests have popped up in recent weeks. One demonstration contained a bit of street theater, as someone in the crowd pretended to be a Google employee, spouting off contempt for the city's residents. Another protest in Oakland ended with demonstrators breaking the window of a Google bus. The program, the Chronicle continued, will require the shuttle bus companies, like Bauer's and Compass Transportation, to pay a fee based on how many Muni bus zone stops they make. The thinking is that fee will be passed onto the tech firms whose employees use the buses. The program still needs the approval of the Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors.
SF Mayor Ed Lee announces a program that would require shuttle buses used by tech companies to pay up for using stops designated for city public transit.
Last month, a demonstration alongside one of the tech buses contained a bit of street theater, as a union organizer pretended to be a Google employee, spouting off contempt for the city's residents.
(Credit: Screenshot by Nick Statt/CNET)
Under a new pilot program announced Monday, San Francisco will begin to charge the operators of the tech buses that pick up passengers at stops designated for the city's official public transit and shuttle commuters down to Silicon Valley, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's office confirmed to CNET.
Those buses have become a potent symbol of the growing divide between the tech industry and residents of San Francisco and Oakland. The announcement should come as welcome news to demonstrators who have been protesting the rising rents and changing culture of the city.
Related posts
- Protesters break window of Google bus, report says
- Fake Google employee's fight with protesters we wish was true
- China workers protest as Nokia-Microsoft deal progresses
Defenders of the buses argue that they help ease traffic by getting hundreds or thousands of cars off the road. Critics, though, have been upset that the shuttles block access to the city's Muni stops and force passengers onto the street to load, while using a resource funded by taxpayers.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the plans had been in the works for months, but became a more urgent issue as protests have popped up in recent weeks. One demonstration contained a bit of street theater, as someone in the crowd pretended to be a Google employee, spouting off contempt for the city's residents. Another protest in Oakland ended with demonstrators breaking the window of a Google bus.
The program, the Chronicle continued, will require the shuttle bus companies, like Bauer's and Compass Transportation, to pay a fee based on how many Muni bus zone stops they make. The thinking is that fee will be passed onto the tech firms whose employees use the buses. The program still needs the approval of the Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors.
