Update, Wednesday, 11:38 a.m.: In an 8-2 vote yesterday, the Board of Supervisors voted to deny the environmental appeal.
The tech bus that puttered up to a group of Spandex-clad protesters at 24th and Valencia Streets today might face obstructions of a different kind, after the Board of Supervisors votes on whether or not to chuck its deal with San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency.
Last month, a loose confederation of political groups -- led by SEIU Local 1021 political director Chris Daly -- filed an environmental appeal with the board, claiming that the city didn't complete a comprehensive environmental impact study before approving its tech bus pilot program, which would charge the coaches $1 per squat to idle at Muni bus stops.
Because California Proposition 218 prevents municipal agencies from charging companies and then funneling the money into city coffers, SFMTA can only charge tech companies enough money to defray the cost of running the program. The $1 fee adds up to about $1.5 million for Muni over the course of 18 months, which seems inconsequential, when you consider the program's side effects: Opponents are apt to invoke the little old woman who has to hobble into the street to catch Muni, because a luxury tech coach is blocking her path.
Today's meeting, which begins at 2 p.m., could easily devolve into class-war debates about who owns taxpayer-funded space in San Francisco. Or it might just induce the Board of Supervisors to consult the state vehicle code, which prohibits private buses from pulling into public stops, according to Daly. He cites a litany of other complaints, including the noxious effects of bio-diesel released from the shuttle bus engines.
Over the past several weeks tech companies and business boosters have launched a robust charm offensive, with Google offering to buy bus passes for students in San Francisco, and the market research firm EMC Research conducting polls to show that voters view the tech buses favorably.
But that hasn't stymied the appellants, who, according to San Francisco Examiner, might file a lawsuit if the Board of Supervisors rejects their argument today.
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