Deal OKd to study, limit controversial tech buses in SF

San Francisco’s controversial program allowing corporate shuttle buses to share Muni stops will continue — but only for a year and at just 125 locations under a deal approved Tuesday by the Municipal Transportation Agency.

Directors completed the deal, which was negotiated early last month by three members of the Board of Supervisors and four major tech companies that haul thousands of employees between San Francisco and Silicon Valley campuses on sleek Wi-Fi-equipped tour buses.

Critics of the corporate shuttles say they speed gentrification, and wanted an environmental impact report to weigh the effects on the housing market as well as air quality.

[...] under the plan approved by the MTA board, city departments will study the effect of the shuttle program on housing prices and monitor air quality near the shared bus stops.

The agency started the program in 2014 after the number of tech shuttle buses swelled, and after many of them were caught using Muni stops without permission, interfering with transit buses, tying up traffic and angering neighbors.