san fransisco bus issue with google

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stoveguy2esw

stoveguy2esw

Minister of Fire
Nov 14, 2006
6,180
madison hgts. va
http://news.yahoo.com/google-bus-blocked-san-francisco-gentrification-protest-004441039--sector.html

here's the thing , SF has for years been plagued with parking issues, has been a haven for those who support a green economy (mass transit is a part of that) Google and some other tech companies (which SF lured to their areas to start with) have started using busses to collect their employees for work. (1 bus versus 44 cars here on a large scale) , now the folks there in the bay city have rebelled citing the affluent workers who labor at these tech companies are making their cost of living rise. this bus thing is essentially the "poster child" for this growing irritation against the folks who have gotten work at these places and are apparently making a lot of money.

from what I understand these folks who are picketing are claiming that the "google busses" are clogging the public bus stops and since they

continued from above (damned interweb)

the "protesters" have decided that since the busses that pick up these workers are doing so at public bus stops that Google and the others who are doing so should be required to pay $500 mil annually for the right to use these stops, this is to be paid to the city government.

personally I laughed til I had tears at this.
 
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I can understand how some might "think" that, however when you are done running all the numbers Google or anyone else running their own bus service is a net benefit to said municipality not a net cost. Inconvenient perhaps but not a net cost to the city. Same applies here with the thousands that are bussed into the oilfields. This does not include any cost however for increased wear & tear on the roads due to the weight of the bus. A highway/traffic/civil engineer could have a completely different take & a set of supporting numbers on this.
 
Silly stuff. We have Microsoft Connect buses picking up folks all over the area. Amazon and Starbucks have their contracted vans too. All Google needs to do is choose a different pickup point, maybe a block away.
 
begreen said:
Silly stuff. We have Microsoft Connect buses picking up folks all over the area. Amazon and Starbucks have their contracted vans too. All Google needs to do is choose a different pickup point, maybe a block away.
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not the point, the point is the people who are out protesting are doing so because they claim the "google people" are driving the cost of living up too high. the bus thing is simply symbolic. simply put what's the difference if they stop and pick up a block away instead of at a spot with a sign up that says "bus stop" would be driving on the same road? BTW the amazon's and microsofts are being similarly protested.
 
Frozen Canuck said:
I can understand how some might "think" that, however when you are done running all the numbers Google or anyone else running their own bus service is a net benefit to said municipality not a net cost. Inconvenient perhaps but not a net cost to the city. Same applies here with the thousands that are bussed into the oilfields. This does not include any cost however for increased wear & tear on the roads due to the weight of the bus. A highway/traffic/civil engineer could have a completely different take & a set of supporting numbers on this.
Click to expand...


the roadbeds are already designed to take the weight of busses, what ends up happening with their doing this is the traffic on the roads is significantly reduced (thus the benefit of mass transit) as for payment , the state and city get their cut from the taxes paid on the vehicles to start with just as they do of every other vehicle they issue a license to(tag fees and such) note also these busses are Ng powered not gas, so they reduce the carbon footprint quite a bit when you look at the alternative, remember google is a green company they spend a lot of cash on doing so. also consider the rampant parking problems in SF it should be a win/win situation for the city and its residents. problem is these folks aren't protesting the busses per se they are protesting the wages these people make, they are just using the busses as their method of targeting.
 
Ah, I see. The protest has nothing to do the buses. It's against higher paid tech employees moving into neighborhoods. Yep, that has happened here in Seattle big time too. Welcome to progress.
 
So not only are people upset that others aren't getting paid enough, they're also upset that others are getting paid to much? That sounds totally reasonable.
 
About 30 years ago Reader's Digest had buses for all their employees in the area I grew up. I guess Google is kinda like a new Reader's Digest anyway.
 
FBF my mom used to work at the Reader's Digest, but no bus for her. She had to drive to work.
 
They had buses in Westchester County, NY. The world HQs was in Chappaqua, NY.
 
Yep, HQ at Chappaqua was where she worked back in the 60's and early 70's. She was a statistician, forecasting sales.
 
No problem, I totally believe you. We lived in a more remote, semi-woodsy area probably a ways away from the bus and my mom may have just chosen to drive all the way than to drive to a bus to get to work. We live in the next town over so it was only about 5-6 miles more.
 
Where did you grow up? I was in Somers. Have you and I been through this before?
 
My mom ended up her days at the retirement home in Somers.
 
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