San Francisco tech bus protests
The San Francisco tech bus protests were a series of protests in the San Francisco Bay Area beginning in late 2013, when the use of shuttle buses employed by local area tech companies became widely publicized. The tech buses have been called "Google buses" although other companies—such as tech companies Apple, Facebook, and Yahoo, and biotechnology corporation Genentech, also pay for private shuttle services.
| San Francisco tech bus protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Protesters in San Francisco obstruct a bus carrying tech workers on December 9, 2013 | |||
| Date | December 2013 – February 2016 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | Direct cause Private transportation services operating parallel to municipal services Indirect cause Gentrification / Displacement | ||
| Methods | |||
| Resulted in | Commuter Shuttle Program since February 1, 2016 | ||
| Parties | |||
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The buses are used to transport employees from their homes in San Francisco and Oakland to corporate campuses in Silicon Valley, about 40 miles (64 km) south. Anti-tech bus protesters viewed the buses as symbols of gentrification and displacement in a city where rapid growth in the tech sector and insufficient new housing construction has led to increasing rent and housing prices.
In reaction to the protests, the City of San Francisco began provisional regulation of the shuttle services in August 2014, with some of the shuttle stops being closed or reassigned to other locations within the city. A permanent solution, known as the Commuter Shuttle Program, took effect on February 1, 2016. This subjected the shuttle services to regulatory processes and monetary compensation requirements, imparting greater legitimacy upon their use. Owing to these new regulations, by May 2017 the protests had largely abated.