Google Co-Opts Whale-Watching Boat To Ferry Employees 373
theodp writes "Purportedly intended to defuse tensions over gentrification that have led to blockades and vandalism of Google's ubiquitous shuttles (video), which make use of public San Francisco bus stops (map), Wired reports that Google is now chartering a ferry to take its workers from SF to Silicon Valley. 'We certainly don't want to cause any inconvenience to SF residents, and we're trying alternative ways to get Googlers to work,' Google explained. Inconveniencing whale-seeking visitors to The Aquarium of the Pacific, however, is apparently not considered evil. After learning that Google had co-opted the $4 million, 83-foot, 150-passenger whale-watching catamaran MV/Triumphant to ferry as few as 30-40 Googlers to work, some expressed concerns on Facebook that Google would be The Grinch That Stole Whale Watching Season (not to worry; the boat's slated to make its 'triumphant' return to Long Beach after Google's '30-day trial')."
Re:i dont get it (Score:4, Informative)
It wasn't that Google hired the buses. It was that Google's buses were using the public-transit bus stops, interfering with the regular buses. That's an entirely reasonable objection, if Google wants to run buses then let them arrange all the infrastructure needed themselves or pay the transit system for using public bus stops.
Re:i dont get it (Score:5, Informative)
Its about the bus stops ... (Score:2, Informative)
If Google were picking up its employees somewhere else there would probably be no controversy.
Re:i dont get it (Score:5, Informative)
It wasn't that Google hired the buses. It was that Google's buses were using the public-transit bus stops, interfering with the regular buses. That's an entirely reasonable objection, if Google wants to run buses then let them arrange all the infrastructure needed themselves or pay the transit system for using public bus stops.
Google is now paying the city $100,000 annually for the use of the public bus stops.
Re:Citation Needed (Score:4, Informative)
Particularly since they are using it in the off-season to keep the boat in use year round. Whales are in Hawaii now.
Re:Citation Needed (Score:5, Informative)
There are some real problems with this, though. The US is fairly unique in that the poor live near city centers, due to urban decay and white flight among other things. Europe usually has the opposite problem - poor concentrated in the suburbs. Poor concentrated anywhere is a bad problem to have. The problem remains that the jobs tend to be closer to the rich people, but now you are making the poor drive cars into the city for work instead of taking the bus or train when they live in an urban area. Access to services is also worse when the poor are forced into a suburban setting - everything is more spread out geographically.
Anyway, it's not Google's fight - but it is a symptom of an unhealthy housing situation. You don't want all the people of means to be completely disconnected from the problems of everyday people.
Re: Citation Needed (Score:4, Informative)
Buy this man a cookie.
If you live in the Bay Area, you know why it's so screwed up.
Prop 13.
Your neighbor can live in a $1.6million house but pay taxes like its worth $160k.
Prop 13 has created a very unhealthy real estate market where there is significant incentive not to move, even if you want to.
Re:i dont get it (Score:4, Informative)
No it's not. It's not legal for any vehicle other than a city bus to use a city bus stop. At least that's the way it's been up until very recently. Now, the bus operators will have to pay to use the stops [sfgate.com].