Google is big business in Mountain View, but it's located in a cul-de-sac business park two miles from the city's transit center. "Personal rapid transit" may be the answer to solving the company's commuting challenges.
Like the rest of the Bay Area, Mountain View is investing heavily in public transit, as evidenced by the fact that the downtown transit center is a hub for both Caltrain and the San Jose light-rail line. But the North Bayshore area – locale for the Google headquarters as well as offices for such companies as LinkedIn, Intuit, and even Microsoft – is two long miles away up Shoreline Boulevard, on the wrong side of a constrained overpass that spans Highway 101 and boxed in by the San Francisco Bay and the former Moffett Field Naval Air Station.
At a transportation workshop last Friday, four experts from around the country provided ideas for Mountain View and Google to consider as the city embarks upon the North Bayshore Precise Plan. The ideas ranged from the obvious – charging employees for parking – to the far-out, such as a "personal rapid transit" system that would whisk employees to and fro within the North Bayshore area, to and from the transit center, and possibly to other destinations as well.
Thanks to Bill Fulton
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