Microsoft has announced the launch of a private 14-bus transit system to serve its employees in the Seattle area. Transit advocates say the plan underscores the transit deficiencies faced by the region.
Later this month, Microsoft will debut its private bus system -- "complete with on-board wireless Internet access -- to shuttle its employees from their neighborhoods around the region to Redmond and back home again."
"At launch, the bus system will handle no more than 1,000 employees a day. That's only a slice of Microsoft's more than 35,000 employees in the region."
"But the fact that Microsoft would find it necessary to take such a step added new fuel to the debate over comprehensive regional transportation reform."
"Microsoft isn't the first company to offer free bus service to its employees. Google offers about 150 bus runs daily across the San Francisco Bay Area, to and from its Mountain View, Calif., campus, spokeswoman Sunny Gettinger said."
FULL STORY: Microsoft giving workers free ride -- with its own bus service
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