Tech giants like Google and Apple will soon be paying their dues to the city of San Francisco, though many critics believe the charge isn't hefty enough.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority's Board of Directors unanimously approved a pilot program on Thursday that will charge tech companies a small fee to shuttle their employees from San Francisco down to campuses in Silicon Valley.
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Tech companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook, have been using San Francisco's public bus and railway stops as pickup locations for employees that work south of the city, sometimes by as much as much as 50 miles. San Francisco residents have vociferously complained that the use of these public stops cause traffic issues in an already strained public transit system, and is ultimately an example of tech companies exploiting the city's public services for private use.
The approved pilot program will establish around 200 acceptable shuttle stops in San Francisco, and will charge the shuttles $1 per stop, per day, beginning in July of 2014. SFMTA project manager Carli Paine, who outlined the program to the board, estimated that this would cost smaller tech companies around $80,000 per year, while larger companies (e.g., Google, Apple, Facebook) could expect bills at over $100,000.
These stops will be regulated by SFMTA employees, and fines will be awarded to shuttles that don't properly follow the rules.

After the original meeting room overflowed, dozens of San francisco residents watched Tuesday's meeting on a screen from a room down the hall.
Image: Kurt Wagner/Mashable
Of course, even six-figures isn't much to a company like Google, which hit more than $50 billion in revenue in 2012.
Dozens of San Francisco citizens took the podium during the 1 p.m. meeting to voice their support or frustration with the proposed program, and those against the pilot program largely felt that the $1 fee was too minimal.
Included in this camp was District Supervisor representing San Francisco's Mission neighborhood David Campos, who cited the $1 fee as the main reason he opposed the proposal. "There is a service that is definitely being provided by these shuttles, and what we want to do is be sure that whatever happens here we don't end up in a situation where people that are taking these shuttles end up driving to work," he said. "That said ... as much as it is a first step, it is a proposal that simply does not go far enough."
Campos' sentiment was echoed many times by citizens who spoke during the open comments section of the meeting, including one passionate commenter who sarcastically, and a bit nonsensically, suggested, "Maybe we should call San Francisco Googleland!"
The program was not without supporters, however, and a handful of citizens, including a few self-identified Google employees, spoke in support of the program. Google reportedly sent around an email of talking points to employees Monday night, encouraging them to attend and suggesting things to say. Crystal Sholts, a program manager at Google who has lived in San Francisco since 2005, defended the shuttle buses during her time at the podium. "Not everyone at Google is a billionaire," she said.
The board listened to public statements for over an hour before unanimously approving the program. One board member, Joel Ramos, pointed out that the shuttles were indeed providing a service that isn't being provided by other public avenues. "Nothing delays our system more than private cars," he explained,a point that many supporters brought up throughout the meeting.
The buses have been a lightning rod for protesters affected by gentrification in many of the city's neighborhoods. Wealthy tech employees living in San Francisco contribute to skyrocketing rents and the squeezing out of middle income families, they claim, though it's not clear how much, if any, of that is directly related to the corporate shuttle buses.
Protestors surrounded a Google shuttle Tuesday morning ahead of the meeting, and one sign that was written in Google's signature font read, “Gentrification and Eviction Technologies." Similar protests took place last December, and in one instance, a shuttle picking up employees in Oakland had a window smashed in.
Two #googlebus blockaded, snarling up traffic at 8th/market pic.twitter.com/bvIMYi5Olz
— The Red Son (@revscript) January 21, 2014
Paine, who outlined the proposal on Tuesday, said that of the 35,000 people who ride these shuttles, only 6,500, or less than 20%, actually travel outside of the city. Studies completed by the SFMTA prior to presenting the proposal estimated that the shuttles save 45 million vehicle miles per year, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11,000 tons annually.
The SFMTA will begin to identify and establish acceptable stops for shuttle pickups over the coming months, and the 18-month pilot program will beginning in July says Pain.
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