Mashable has reached out to both Apple and the local police to confirm whether the shuttles were being shot at, and we will update this when we hear back. At the time of publication, Apple and the local police were not able to confirm what object was shattering the windows. It could, of course, be rocks — but even rocks thrown at a moving vehicle on the highway could result in tragedy.
Be safe people.
As someone who lives in Mountain View, I’ll note that the tech companies’ shuttles are not trivially distinguishable; they’re all typically the same long-distance coach designs that you might use as part of a tour or to travel between cities. Occasionally there’s a sign on the bus in some kind of shorthand (like MTV for Mountain View or MPK for Menlo Park), but that’s it, no company branding [with a few exceptions, like the purple Yahoo bus].
In fact, most of the companies contract out to the same operators, which is one reason they’re not branded.
So it’s likely the perpetrator is not specifically targeting Apple, but rather the tech buses. Either way, it’s terrible, inexcusable and really unfortunate. Let’s hope they catch the jerk soon.
Local reporting suggests, indeed, 5 different buses from different companies: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/apple-google-shuttle-bus-vandalized-280-12504891.php
The stretch here of I-280 (between CA-84 and CA-85) is pretty remote and quiet as it runs along the foothills of the San Mateo mountains. Known as the Junipero Serra Freeway, it’s often called the “World’s Most Beautiful Freeway.”
Really sad someone out there is playing with pellet guns.
Are tech buses still using municipal bus stops and delaying public transportation?
Using municipal bus stops? Yes, in agreement with the SFMTA. All of the buses now have SFMTA stickers on them.
Delaying public transportation? That’s a complex, politically-loaded question subject to strong disagreement. The SFMTA and other public transportation agencies are in favor of the tech buses, and believe they help mitigate traffic increases in the Bay Area from people who would otherwise drive. They also believe that the existing public transportation infrastructure couldn’t handle the load by themselves. However, public transportation throughout the Bay Area, and SF, continue to slow due to a variety of issues.
Also, this incident happened nowhere near the issues you’re asking about (10+ miles south of SF).
Thank you for the added information. I tend to bristle at any perceived encroachment upon (or debilitation of) public transport.
As a former resident of a city and region with functional transport (=New York), I tend to agree with you.
The Bay Area, sadly, is not that. With 101 cities across ~9 counties, most with different transit organizations and planning, public transit is spotty and limited. BART is the closest thing to an inter-county agency, but doesn’t have any coverage where Google, Facebook, or Apple are.
The only public inter-county transit that is close to these employers* is Caltrain (which runs on the Peninsula between SF and San Jose), perates without actual explicit funding, and begs for money every year. They’re already at capacity and bursting at the seams, so for them the tech buses are needed capacity in the Peninsula.
*Apple is in a particularly bad spot, in Cupertino, land of NIMBYs and particularly poor public transit (no proximity to Caltrain, even). And of course they’re expanding there bigtime, without any added housing. So the only solution are more single-occupancy cars** or tech buses.
**HOV/multi-occupancy cars are another subject entirely. The tldr is most Californians, at least in Northern California, can’t be bothered.
NIMBY is a widespread affliction.
Sure. But only in California do homeowners essentially get money for free for being NIMBYs. So, we have it particularly bad.
In other words, CA’s Proposition 13 has outsize effects on lots of issues in the Bay Area, especially around housing and transportation.
Sounds like a complex place. I should visit sometime.
On the other hand, the ludicrous housing prices in the Bay Area are making it hard for most people to live there. Prop 13 is necessary to keep people in homes they can afford. If that means taxing the rich more, so be it.
I suspect some of the violence against Google, Apple, and other busses is in part supported by leftists who are as clue-impaired as the far right in terms of how one puts together an open and reasonable society.
Sadly possible. There are assholes in every group who ruin whatever they believe their cause is.
Prop. 13 is a very blunt and poorly designed instrument for targeting affordability, like many propositions. Amongst others:
It in fact protects the richest by creating a new landed Californian gentry, both individual and commercial. For example, Disneyland, in Anaheim, pays pennies on the dollar of taxes that would be normally assessed. So, in fact, in many cases the existing rich pay less. For the nouveau rich, they don’t pay any more than what they otherwise would without Prop. 13.
By providing perverse incentive (resisting housing means higher property values == free $$$ without any penalties), it in fact strongly contributes to the housing shortage, keeping property values too high for the average person.
“Leftists” are a large group with diverse interests, just like everyone else.
There are definitely leftist anarchist elements in Oakland and Berkeley who are keenly desiring of doing this to forment unrest (and who have publicly staged such stunts). We’ll find out if they’re related to this incident. However, in previous incidents they’ve never ranged this far south.