San Francisco tech bus protests

San Francisco tech bus protests
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	San Francisco, Oakland, California US
Caused by	Direct cause; Private transportation services operating parallel to municipal services; Indirect cause; Gentrification / Displacement
Methods	Direct action; Occupation; Picketing; Demonstrations; Street protest; Petitions;
Resulted in	Commuter Shuttle Program since February 1, 2016
Parties
City of San Francisco • San Francisco Board of Supervisors; • San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA); Silicon Valley tech; companies • Google; • Apple, Inc.; • Facebook; • Genentech; • Yahoo;	Community activists • San Francisco League of Young Voters; • Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club; • Heart of the City; • San Francisco Displacement and Neighborhood Impact Agency; • Eviction Free San Francisco; Labor unions; • SEIU 1021;

The San Francisco tech bus protests, also known as the Google 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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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^[3] has led to increasing rent and housing prices.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Sarah McBride (December 9, 2013). "Google bus blocked in San Francisco protest vs gentrification". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
^ Clark, Patrick (June 23, 2017). "Why Can't They Build More Homes Where the Jobs Are?". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017. San Francisco's metropolitan area added 373,000 net new jobs in the last five years [2012 – 2017]—but issued permits for only 58,000 units of new housing.
^ Cite error: The named reference gumb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lee, Wendy (July 9, 2016). "More Tech Workers Driving Solo After SF Cuts Shuttle Stops". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
^ Pender, Kathleen (May 22, 2017). "Will Occupy Silicon Valley be the sequel to Occupy Wall Street?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

[:7-1] Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Sarah McBride (December 9, 2013). "Google bus blocked in San Francisco protest vs gentrification". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.

[homes_where_the_jobs_are-3] Clark, Patrick (June 23, 2017). "Why Can't They Build More Homes Where the Jobs Are?". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017. San Francisco's metropolitan area added 373,000 net new jobs in the last five years [2012 – 2017]—but issued permits for only 58,000 units of new housing.

[gumb-4] Cite error: The named reference gumb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Lee, Wendy (July 9, 2016). "More Tech Workers Driving Solo After SF Cuts Shuttle Stops". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

[6] Pender, Kathleen (May 22, 2017). "Will Occupy Silicon Valley be the sequel to Occupy Wall Street?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

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