Better to Appease Irate Neighbors Than Decrease Car Commuting

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial supports the decision by the Municipal Transportation Agency to 'bow' to complaints from residents about the large tech buses by reducing their stops in their neighborhoods even if it means increasing car trips.

2 minute read

July 14, 2016, 11:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


Tech Shuttle

Lupita S-O'Brien / Flickr

"Bowing to complaints from residents in congested neighborhoods like the Mission, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has been regulating the stops for the large buses that ferry technology workers to campuses on the Peninsula," editorializes the paper. 

Moving shuttle stops from smaller streets onto larger ones will reduce neighborhood congestion and improve quality of life.

Moving the stops by only a few blocks asks tech workers to make only the tiniest of sacrifices.

post on Monday indicates that "fewer Facebook employees are taking the shuttle and choosing to drive instead—according to a recent Facebook report to the city of Menlo Park."

According to that report, "on May 9, trips entering Facebook’s complex at One Hacker Way increased by about 16 percent to 12,400 compared with May 8 of last year. 

"It’s unfortunate that more workers are choosing to drive to work," continues the editorial. "But the fault here is with those workers. It’s not with the city transportation agency."

In other words, blame commuters for resorting to their cars rather than walking up to half a mile to new bus stops after the transportation agency took away their old stops. 

The bias against the city's technology workforce that commutes to the Peninsula and South Bay is acknowledged in the editorial's conclusion. About one-third of Facebook’s employees live in San Francisco, according to Wendy Lee's earlier article in The Chronicle.

If there was a bias in this case, it was that the agency chose to weigh more heavily complaints from the San Francisco neighborhoods than the convenience of technology companies who aren’t based within the city’s limits. San Francisco residents are the ones who pay the SFMTA’s bills, so that’s right and fair.

It would seem that the paper overlooks the fact that commuters to Facebook and other tech companies are San Francisco residents as well.

More on how the technology shuttles have reshaped Silicon Valley's workforce here.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016 in San Francisco Chronicle

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Adult holding hands of two children, all wearing winter coats, in crosswalk in New York City during holidays with trees decorated with lights in background.

Pedestrian Deaths Drop, Remain Twice as High as in 2009

Fatalities declined by 4 percent in 2024, but the U.S. is still nowhere close to ‘Vision Zero.’

1 hour ago - Streetsblog USA

View of dense apartment buildings on Seattle waterfront with high-rise buildings in background.

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents

The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

July 11 - Real Change

Aerial view of suburban housing near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing

Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

July 11 - Shelterforce Magazine