— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
I seems as though one of Google's shuttles found itself stuck at the bottom of 23rd and Chattanooga this weekend, suggesting the company's salad days are behind them.
Anyway, here's a video of the community's doomed attempt to get the whale off the beach:
Comments (21)
Even the Jethro with his pickup truck couldn’t budge that behemoth. Maybe they should have begged the geeksters to get off the bus to lighten the load(?)
We all hate bloatware
They are wrecking the streets,causing potholes due to the extreme weight not to mention the texting driver that blew off a stop sign and nearly hit my neighbor last week. Get them OUT of the neighborhood streets!!
Can google just move to soma christ sake?
No surprise here. Keep in mind that these shuttle drivers are the same people who think a full-length coach can take the right turn from the Monterey exit on 280 to go to BART without almost killing everyone in Glen Park.
Apparently, Google has not figured out that large tour buses should avoid steep hills. (Well, Google Streetview does not properly picture steep grades anyway.) Also it takes a larger vehicle than a pickup truck to tow a tour bus. Have you seen the tow trucks used to tow buses, they’re rather large, being the type that can tow semi-trucks (like a Peterbuilt).
Unlike Boston and Toronto, San Francisco couldn’t convert its trolley buses to CNG power because they can’t make it up The City’s hills.
In The City, CNG buses are evil. Sorry, Google…
I love how these shuttles pick up passengers at MUNI stops but refuse to pull in. This pretty much leads to a nice morning commute backup especially on Cesar Chavez with the construction. I’d almost prefer the thirty extra cars… Or better yet, why don’t they LIVE closer!
Why do Google and Genentech use these huge busses? I don’t think I’ve ever see one that is even HALF full. They are a waste and a traffic hazard. It would be cheaper and more environmentally responsible for Google to buy commuter passes for their employees.
At the top of this hill one sign says Sharp Crest the other Trucks Not Advised (means Huge Buses too)
I like the Google buses. They are understated in advertising, and share the road.
But the pickup truck pulling on the bus does not look Google level smart. duh.
imagine the havoc that would be wrecked on the rental market if google moved their shuttle stops to more localized spots like Muni stops. can’t help but giggle at that the possibilities.
A Google bus driving around on a weekend? Shuttles don’t run on the weekend so there’s nobody in there so the salad days aren’t really over are they?
And the shuttles are full once they get to work. They’ve got a few stops to make but trust me. All the seats are full once they make it to the Googleplex.
Up yours Google. Get out of the city
If only they had Googled bus stuck or used a Google Map.
The jerks that drive the buses think they own both sides of the road on every street near google. luckily it’s low traffic out there anyway.
The reality is, there are many companies busing employees from the both San Francisco and Berkeley to their campuses in Silicon Valley. We should pool their money and get a better regional transit system and better city planning, requiring job centers be close transit.
The problem is that Google doesn’t want to substitute transit service for its buses. It sees time on its buses as essentially worktime. Also using transit might mean that Google employees “fraternized with the enemy,” like employees from Yahoo or Facebook or whatever company. Google does not want that.
Having a long distance, basically point to point quasi-transit service like this is OK, it’s a tough market for transit to serve. But they need to use appropriate vehicles on appropriate routes–that’s why there are transit planners. And Google in SoMa would be better for the environment, yes, there would be a lot less car travel overall.
If y’all are interested in becoming more familiar with the issues, this is a long but pretty comprehensive writeup.
http://its.berkeley.edu/btl/2010/fall/private-buses
The Google buses cause some congestion, but what causes more Noe Valley congestion is the number of a##$o!3s that double park their cars or delivery trucks on 24th street, OR the idiots who can’t understand that if they can’t pull into the Whole Foods lot, they should move on instead of just idling in the street, waiting for a spot to free up.
At least the buses move along after picking up passengers, no worse a delay than being being a Muni bus. Why doesn’t the city start writing citations for all the double parkers and raise some money for local government?
Just because you want a cup of coffee doesn’t mean you get to double park and just “run in”. Block someone’s driveway if you can’t find a spot, at least that only inconveniences 1 person, not the whole neighborhood.
Good posting.