Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The bus operators — private companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Genentech — would pay for permits to use the Muni stops Looks like that issue is being taken care of.
Yeah, it's nice to know that if I break the rules I can get the city to retroactively change them for me, assuming I have enough money.
Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
71–80 of 188 posts
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Their math seems suspect. $1B / $271 = 3.7 million stops. Assuming 39 bus stops in the Bay Area [1], a 7d/wk schedule (i.e., no separate holiday/weekend schedule), and that every bus stop gets an equal number of stops, that's 86 stops per day per bus stop . Or once every 17 minutes, around the clock. I'd believe that frequency for peak hours at the busiest/largest stops, but not as the all-day average across every st…
>Google declined to comment on the map, but said it has over 100 buses that shuttle 4,500-plus people per day from more than 30 stops across seven Bay Area counties. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000087239639044398290... So Google alone could make up that number. Toss in the other tech companies that are doing this as well and I can see how there are far more than 86 stops a day.
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#73It is entirely unclear what they are protesting, other than 'not working at Google.' The alleged trespass of using 'public infrastructure for private profit' is unsupported. People pick up and drop off people at the sidewalk (required, no stopping in the middle of the street). The staged appearance of a guy who is a union organizer (reported elsewhere) added a bit of melodrama. Looking at the action critically, what…
"The alleged trespass of using 'public infrastructure for private profit' is unsupported. People pick up and drop off people at the sidewalk (required, no stopping in the middle of the street)." I'm sorry but this is simply wrong. If you tried to pick up and drop off someone in a bus stop everyday, you would get ticketed for it. These buses do not. If you need to make things up to support these people it kind of worr…
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#74It is entirely unclear what they are protesting, other than 'not working at Google.' The alleged trespass of using 'public infrastructure for private profit' is unsupported. People pick up and drop off people at the sidewalk (required, no stopping in the middle of the street). The staged appearance of a guy who is a union organizer (reported elsewhere) added a bit of melodrama. Looking at the action critically, what…
I haven't experienced it anywhere else though. I think this is basically just a highly visible spot for these buses, and they do interrupt MUNI service during morning traffic. Though I'm not sure they interrupt service any more than any other piece of traffic..
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Looking at the action critically, what is to be gained by calling attention to Google, Facebook, and others providing their own bus fleets? A bus fleet that works for everybody? You know, the kind of public transportation that is common in industrialized countries that have their act together when it comes to the provision of public services.
And are they aren't preventing anyone from doing that.
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#76I don't get it. The buses are cutting down on personal driving (a universally acknowledged evil), and paying for permits to use the stops (generating revenue for the city). Would these people rather the Google employees all drive personal vehicles, increasing wear and tear on the roads, congestion, pollution, etc., costing the city money? Also, is it really the companies fault that the value of housing in the area is…
Even if the pilot program succeeds (maybe some time next year), and Google, et. al., start paying for bus stop permits, there's still the issue of the city turning a blind eye to all the illegal stops that have gone on for the last 5 years or so.
It's great for the city to create a program that encourages mass transportation, but subsidizing it for only a select class of people is a poor use of public funds at best, and discriminatory at worst.
[1] http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/rules-proposed-for-co...
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not what I said. What I said is that I'm not obligated to "reason" with someone that illegally demands my attention. Maybe abortion doctors should be obligated to "reason" with pro-life protestors, to open a conversation? Hey, a lot of time those guys aren't even breaking the law. What the OP calls being an "uptight techie" I call being an ordinary human being in an allegedly civilized country.
You seemed to miss the guys point. If you park somewhere illegally and someone blocks you in, getting upset that they are doing something illegal while ignoring the fact that you are doing something similarly illegal everyday is pretty weird imo...
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#78It is entirely unclear what they are protesting, other than 'not working at Google.' The alleged trespass of using 'public infrastructure for private profit' is unsupported. People pick up and drop off people at the sidewalk (required, no stopping in the middle of the street). The staged appearance of a guy who is a union organizer (reported elsewhere) added a bit of melodrama. Looking at the action critically, what…
"The alleged trespass of using 'public infrastructure for private profit' is unsupported. People pick up and drop off people at the sidewalk (required, no stopping in the middle of the street)." I'm sorry but this is simply wrong. If you tried to pick up and drop off someone in a bus stop everyday, you would get ticketed for it. These buses do not. If you need to make things up to support these people it kind of worr…
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#79It is entirely unclear what they are protesting, other than 'not working at Google.' The alleged trespass of using 'public infrastructure for private profit' is unsupported. People pick up and drop off people at the sidewalk (required, no stopping in the middle of the street). The staged appearance of a guy who is a union organizer (reported elsewhere) added a bit of melodrama. Looking at the action critically, what…
Looking at the action critically, what is to be gained by calling attention to Google, Facebook, and others providing their own bus fleets? A bus fleet that works for everybody? You know, the kind of public transportation that is common in industrialized countries that have their act together when it comes to the provision of public services.
Re: Protesters block Google bus in S.F. Mission
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to mention those Google employees pay a lot in taxes. They fund that public infrastructure, more so than just about anyone else in fact.
Where is the data that proves that Google employees pay more taxes than what is proper for their individual incomes.