Five Years Later - Are Shuttle Buses Useful Or A Menace?

Since we first wrote about the controversial "Google bus" in 2009, the commuter lines have become a lightning rod around the Bay Area. The obvious benefit of the buses is fewer cars on the roads everyday. While there are no hard numbers that tells us just how many people would live so far from work if the bus wasn't an option, we're going to say less cars is a good thing. The negatives include disrupting existing public transit, bus traffic on roads not designated for their size, increased numbers of noisy diesel vehicles idling in the neighborhoods, an alarming number of them stuck on our hills... and the list goes on. For many they've also become a symbol of the haves and have nots.

Basically, those who ride them love them and those who don't ... don't.

Case in point: We received the video above from Scott Maddux showing a "typical morning in Noe Valley." It was taken this morning around the intersection of 26th and Noe Streets.

He writes, "I support the idea of the buses and efficient commuting but pick-ups and routing should be limited to major streets. These buses are clearly not designed for our residential neighborhoods and I think it's obvious that the current situation is unsustainable."

What do you think? Have things gotten better or worse since 2009?

[NVSF: Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?]
[Scott Maddux on YouTube: Noe Valley Tech Buses]

This Week In Noe Valley: Concerts In The Living Room, AirBnB Crackdown Crying, And Rental Angst

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• You’re not the only one who heard the Beyonce Jay-Z concert in your living room [SFGate]
• Just as you’re probably hearing Outside Lands too [SFGate]
• If you’re at Outside Lands and want an Uber to Noe Valley, get ready to pay $400 [@Tuce_Chainz]
• Owner of private shuttle to be charged after bus blocks J-Church [CBSLocal]
• 'Airbnb' legislation is attracting a wide variety of opponents; still likely to pass [KQED]
• Meanwhile BJ Droubi is doing her part to keep rents high and available only to non-locals in Noe Valley [48 Hills]
• More $2M+ homes now sell in Noe Valley and Cole Valley than in more "prestigious" northern neighborhoods like Pac Heights [Curbed]
• So expensive apparently no one knows what to "ask" for a property [Curbed]
• Worst place for renters in the U.S.? San Francisco, if cost is your only benchmark [Mother Jones]
• A portrait of Dorian of Dorian's Clock Repair on Sanchez [Marc Oliver LeBlanc]
• Noe Valley Democrats summer party and fundraiser is at Savor this Tues Aug 12 6:30-8:30pm [NV Dems]
• Supervisor Scott Weiner’s July/August newsletter is out [Scott Weiner]

[Photo: "Sitting on our front steps mowing some peasant pies" by hackerjackla]

This Week In Noe Valley: Twerking At Cardio-tone, Last Days Of Anna Madrigal In Noe, Shuttle Bus Riders Dish

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Cardio-tone adds classy fitness classes via Fitmob such as Weapons of Ass Reduction and Twerkout Conditioning [7x7]
• 40% of shuttle bus riders say they'd leave SF without the chartered buses - and 40% live in the Mission, Castro, Nob Hill and Noe Valley [SF Gate] 
• Armistead Maupin's newest and last Tales of the City book is set largely in Noe [Guardian]
• Shareable's Top 15 How-tos of all time includes Noe Valley's own Elizabeth Crane's How to Start a Farmer's Market [Shareable]
• The lowdown on December home sales in Noe [Downing & Co.]
• "#art #noevalley #barf" [molly6000]

[Photo: Sunset in Noe - startafire]

A Most Excellent Map Of Employee Shuttle Bus Stops

No routes have been published of employee shuttle bus stops, but Realtors seem to know where they are - they're a huge bonus for selling or renting property in Noe Valley and other neighborhoods to those commuting to Silicon Valley. Neighbors have loved/hated them since around 2008. The City conducted a study concluding there's money to be made in regulation. But no one has quantified what everyone wants to know - how many people ride them and do they do more harm than good?

Data visualization experts at Stamen Design were commissioned by Zero1 to study how many people make the commute from San Francisco to the Silicon Valley, urban to suburban. It was a long process, and the above map was created. The nut? Besides the really cool graphic? "At a rough estimate, these shuttles transport about 40% of the amount of passengers Caltrain moves each day. Google alone runs about 125 trips daily, all over the city."

[Stamen: The City from the Valley (2012)]
[Zero1 Biennial]

This Week In Noe Valley: Gov At James Lick, More Shuttle Bus Nastiness, Bethany Is Back

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Governor Brown kicked off the James Lick school year [SF Appeal]
• DPW has made sidewalk landscaping permits easy [SFDPW]
• Another shuttle bus (driver) behaving badly [SFist]
• Noe Valley's official car? [@CarinaOst]
• There must be a video geek in Noe Valley who will appreciate this [pbump]
• July condo sales in Noe Valley average $1M plus [Downing & Co]
• Bethany returns to renovated church; open house is September 15th according to sign in windows [Bethany]
• At least we know why there may be another helicopter in the air for a while [NNSA]

[Photo: Whole Foods parking lot construction or just another day?]

Google Buses Behaving Badly

Longtime readers of this blog know that Google (and other) corporate shuttles have been controversial in Noe Valley. Homeowners appreciate the value they add, users continuously remind us that they cut down on cars on the road (as if living where you work wouldn't), and people who don't work in Silicon Valley complain about their neighborhood becoming a bus depot. But for the first time, we have a complaint about the buses from a bus user...of another company:

Noe Valley Editors - I read your blog on Noe Valley and I wanted to write in about an issue I've been noticing in our neighborhood. We our own home at 22nd Street and Noe. We have lived in Noe for 8 years and just recently, I noticed Google switching its private commuter shuttle bus route from 24th street to go on local streets that were not intended to be used by such large buses...

This reminds me of the incident where Google was upsetting residents on Jersey Street years ago. As a fellow Silicon Valley employee, I can empathize with the desire to have commuter bus shuttle service to service the commute to/from the Peninsula. I have commuted in/out of the Peninsula my entire career here in the Bay Area for the past 13 years but my employee commuter shuttle runs up/down Guerrero Street and does not go down the local neighborhood streets.

I believe these are the Google buses that are at fault but these private commuter shuttles are running west on 24th Street, going right onto Noe, driving up the hill, and making a left on 22nd Street to cut over to Castro Street. I am pretty sure they are doing this to avoid the traffic of commuter shuttles and SF buses and the light at the corner of 24th and Castro. I am upset by this as my children play on 22nd Street, it's a small street towards the top of the hill and was never intended to be a street served by bus traffic. I am wondering what we can do to help rectify this issue as a community as the Jersey Street folks did years ago for their street.

Which brings up a question: Do the commuters who use these buses ever confront the drivers for using inappropriate streets, bus stops, etc? Or are they just along for the ride?

[NVSF: All posts on shuttle buses]
[NVSF: Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?]
[NVSF: Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors]

This Week In Noe Valley

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Drewes Bros now at Noe Valley Farmers Market every other week [Twitter]
• Proposed changes to the J-Church corridor [SFMTA]
• Noe Valley Id invading La Lengua [Twitter]
• Noe Valley home sales averaged 103% of list price in March [SellingSF]
• The SF Bay Guardian discovers corporate shuttle buses [SFBG (or is it the SF Examiner?)]
• Multi-house sidewalk greeening around 26th and Sanchez has a Facebook page [Facebook]

Shuttle Buses: SFCTA Releases Final Draft Of Strategic Analysis Report

In 2009 Bevan Dufty initiated a studdy of corporate/private shuttle buses operating in San Francisco neighborhoods. Concerns at the time were that while the busses took drivers off the road and increased foot traffic to local business the busses were too big, too loud and took up space at MUNI stops -- all true to varying degrees according to the SAR finalized on May 25, 2011. Other claims were unfounded (for instance, Google was not paying to use MUNI stops).

After studying use patterns of employer and regional shuttles in the Marina, Glen Park, and Noe Valley (as well as in Seattle, New York City and Washington, DC), the SFCTA came up with two recommendations:

1) More formal management and recognition of shuttles. The SAR recommends the
development of a “Muni Partners” program at the SFMTA and dedicated SFMTA staff to liaise with the shuttle industry, respond to public inquiries and concerns, and provide for the orderly and beneficial growth of the shuttle sector. Shuttle providers would pay a fee to sustain the program which would provide operating guidelines and facilities for safe and complementary shuttle operations with Muni and other road users.

2) Designated shuttle coordinator. The Muni Partners program would include a shuttles staff person at the SFMTA to address management needs and develop regulations, coordinate with shuttle providers and operators, and act as a point of contact for the public. This coordinator would set certification criteria, provide operating guidance, plan needed facilities, set fee structures, conduct monitoring and evaluation activities, coordinate enforcement, and manage growth of the sector. The coordinator would also receive and appropriately direct public inquiries and complaints.

In other words, the shuttles are valuable, need to be regulated and the City sees a potential revenue stream.

Give it a read (PDF). Lots of good info.

[SFCTA: Shuttle SAR]
[SFCTA: SAR Final Report (PDF)]
[SFCTA: SAR Memo to CAC (PDF)]
[NVSF: Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors]
[NVSF: Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?]

NVV: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice isn't real-time.

December 2009 / January 2010

Front Page: Noe Valley resident Bill McBride is inspired by Three Cups of Tea and raising money for schools in Pakistan; Circle Bank to open on 24th St; Residents upset with all the new pole-top antennas that supply 3G service (picture from last February); Potential for parking meter reform; Vampires are hot, and a local novelist Clare Willis wants a piece of the action; Mission Education Center at 30th & Noe is now a "transitional school for recent immigrants."

Letters: More on dangerous drivers; A grandfather chimes in on the never-ending dog v. child wars at Noe Courts; Some clarification about the location of the NVV business office.

Feature: SFCTA has released the final draft of the Shuttle Bus SAR.

Cost of Living in Noe: "Homebuyers continued to find Noe Valley a desirable place to live" and the local market is "relatively healthy." And yeah...it's a buyer's market because they're paying only 2% over asking. Rent? Down from last year.

Short Takes: Friends of Noe Valley is looking for submissions to the Noe Valley Garden Tour on June 12, 2010; NV resident Paul Linde is promoting his book Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist.

Store Trek: Noeteca Cafe and Wine Bar; Star Magic: The Second Generation (so far committed to stay only through the end of the year but entertaining options because "the response from the community has been overwhelming."

Traveling Voice: Versailles, Greece, London, Madrid.

Rumors: "For a neighborhood that prides itself on community involvement, Noe Valley seems to have little interest in the nuts and bolts of civic duty." Why's that? Low voter turnout in the Nov 3 election, expectations that few people will show to support/pan Bevan's proposal to add more restaurants to Noe Valley, and (most-importantly based on word count) the poorly publicized and hard-to-find Noe Valley Association survey about businesses on 24th St. In better news, La Boulangerie c'est arrivé! Cash-strapped Drewes Bros will send 600 pounds of turkey to St. Anthony's Dining Room as a matching gift based on the 1300 turkeys purchased for NV resident's Thanksgiving. Oh--and nothing has happened to the Real Foods/Nutraceutical space ("Turkey of the Year").

Bonus Rumor: The Voice found the blogosphere! They report that the Chronicle is looking to expand local news on SFGate.com with blogs and that Noe Valley is blessed to have its very own section. It's currently populated with rewritten posts from the (possibly-dormant) Noe Valley Buzz. Apparently they're looking for more bloggers.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Tidbits: Post-Thanksgiving Roundup

Bevan Dufty wants your input on the final draft of the shuttle bus Strategic Analysis Report. In his monthly newsletter Bevan states: "This report will come for discussion and possible approval on Tuesday, December 8th at the SFCTA's Plans and Programs meeting 10:30 a.m. in room 263 of City Hall. You can testify in person or provide comments in advance to tilly.chang@sfcta.org." The most succinct analysis we've seen of the report is from SF Weekly's The Snitch.

The NVMPA, too, would like your input. This time the subject is proposed parking changes. Survey here.

Friends of Billy Goat Hill wants your help cleaning, restoring and planting trees this winter. January 16 is planting day on the the Hill with SFNAP and Friends of the Urban Forest. Details here.

China Wok: Slightly improved since last inspected. Still...ick.

History underfoot: Carl Nolte provides more info on the ironworks of yore.

Finally, Susanne Madux sent us the above photo of the Hope Valley in Derbyshire, England. Why? The River Noe runs through it. Susanne would like to point out that there isn't a nails/waxing to be seen anywhere in that particular Noe valley.

[SFCTA The Role of Shuttle Services in San Francisco ]
[NVSF: Update: Shuttle Study]
[Photo: RoyStone]

Whole Foods Countdown: Shuttle Service Ending

The shuttle service Whole Foods provides once a week to get seniors to other locations while Noe Valley waits for a new grocery store? Ending September 22nd.

Update (8/22): As noted in the comments, the Tuesday Farmer's Market will end this week on the 25th - Whole Foods wants their parking lot back. Today two different vendors told us that the organizers of the FM are not interested in negotiating for more space because they...ahem...disagree with the recent Op-Ed CEO John Mackey penned for the Wall Street Journal regarding health care reform. (That'll teach him.) Rumor is they're trying to organize another market elsewhere. Stay tuned.

[NVSF: Whole Foods: Senior Shuttle]
[NVSF: NVMPA: Help the Farmer's Market Help US!]

NVV: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered at NVSF.

July/August 2009

• Front page: Phoenix Books rises again, La Boulange comes to Noe, Just Awesome Games gets a microloan with some help from Good Morning America, world-class Jazz at Bliss Bar, and the senior lunch program saved through July 31.
• Letters: Just two – one nostalgic for Magnolia Thunderpussy Cafe [Ed- we’re not making this up], and another about the economic downturn (it’s not as bad as the 70s - you can tell by the lack of garage sales).
• Op-Ed: Chairman of Citizens United for Safer Streets (CUSS) encourages everyone to keep their dogs (especially big ones) on leashes and “at a safe distance from other beings, except in designated dog parks.”
• Obits: Remembering Carl Smith 1931-2008, founder of the Noe Valley Ministry.
• Cost of Living in Noe: Average price of a single family home in Noe is now $1.2 million, down from $1.4 million in 2008; rent prices are flat.
• Photo: Glamour shot of Mama’s – the corner store at 22nd and Dolores; Pat Mackey of Whitney St. converted his 1992 Mazda Miata to an electric vehicle.
• Short Takes: Upper Noe Recreation Center cleanup on July 11; Cooks Boulevard adds a book club and Community Agriculture program – details at cooksboulevard.com; Google/Apple/Genetech shuttle bus study results due in September - selected comments from this and this thread on NVSF are included.
• Rumors: Bistro 24 open for business; Noeteca delayed to July 15 or early August; Andiamo Deli is still for sale (asking price: $45,000); GNC closed; MadKat shuttered - owner Isa Muhawieh lost his lease and the owner would not renew – he’s looking for a new location in Noe to reopen [Ed- new store in the old Isa’s location opened this week as Shampoo & Bubbles]; Noe Knit dishes on the reason for closing (the Internet); Good News on 24th Street reports a 50% decline in issues of the Chronicle sold (also thanks to the Internet); Ingleside Station Captain Lazar reports an uptick in subscribers to the police action reports [Ed – Note the scary increase in armed robberies and grifters -– be careful out there]; Noe Courts needs a fence; free Wednesday night movies sponsored by Fima Photography and Videowave – see the stores (on Castro @ Jersey) for a schedule.
• Traveling Voice: Hangin' at the Brandenburg Gate.

No mention of the missing snake.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Update: Shuttle Study

General consensus: Noe Valley is for NIMBYs. The Examiner reported on last Thursday's Upper Noe Neighbors meeting without managing to get quotes from "the other side" so well represented in our comments sections. While much of the discussion here has revolved around employee shuttles to Silicon Valley, the Examiner missed the point that this study is looking at all shuttle use in San Francisco--Noe Valley is just a small (albeit vocal) focus of the study. (More about the Strategic Analysis Report in this post and this PDF.)

So what's next? "Findings from the report will be released in July and could include charging fees for shuttles to enter The City, possible route changes and the creation of special zones for the vehicles, according to Margaret Cortes, a senior transportation planner."

If you went to last Thursday's meeting, please leave your impressions in the comments.

[SFE: Give me some space! Shuttles clog Noe streets]
[NVSF: Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors]
[NVSF: Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?]
[SFCTA: Shuttle SAR]

Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors

[The Upper Noe Neighbors] will be having a follow-up meeting about the San Francisco shuttle study on Thursday, June 4th. There will be an update from the SF County Transportation Authority on progress made since our last meeting. Also on hand will be a panel of employers from Google, Genentech and more whose companies contract the shuttles. These employer reps will be there to address questions from neighbors and provide information about their shuttle services. Obviously, this meeting is a must for those who use or are affected by the shuttles in Noe Valley.

Who isn't likely to be there? Representatives from the bus companies. So while Google, Apple, Genentech, etc, can laud the good they're doing, no one accountable for large buses speeding, ignoring weight limits or idling while waiting in front of residences and businesses will hear your concerns. Hopefully word gets back to them...

What: Upper Noe Neighbors Monthly Meeting
When: Thursday, June 4, 7:30PM
Where: Upper Noe Rec Center, 295 Day St.

[NVSF: Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?]

Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?

Sanchez St. / Day St.

In 2007 Google bowed to Noe Valley concerns and agreed to stop using streets west of Church St for its popular employee shuttles. Apparently that didn't last long (see above photo from October 2008) Not all companies are following suit (see comments) and the City is now looking to regulation.

The SFCTA is conducting a Strategic Analysis Report (SAR) to determine what steps, if any, the City needs to take. Here's an outtake from the Resolution [PDF] authorizing the SAR:

An important consideration in looking at shuttles, is whether their place in the spectrum of San Francisco transit services is clearly defined in existing policy and planning documents. We anticipate that some of the policy decisions that will be highlighted by the SAR will deal with regulation and oversight, support for shuttles as part of San Francisco’s Transit First Policy, and whether there should be efforts to recapture into regular fixed-route transit some of the ridership currently on shuttles.

The study will look at vans, mini-buses and full-sized coaches; the study is not looking at airport shuttles or MUNI. In other words, this study could effect everything from Google buses to Whole Foods shuttles to BART to senior mobility services.

How can you make your voice heard? One way is to attend the next Upper Noe Neighbors meeting on March 26th, 7:30pm, at the Upper Noe Rec Center:

Here's [part of] the agenda:

Private shuttle services--the S.F County Transportation Authority is looking into neighborhood issues associated with these buses. Representatives from the SFCTA will be at this meeting. This is your chance to let them know how they affect our neighborhood and discuss ways to mitigate problems. This is bound to be a lively discussion as residents have been voicing complaints about this for quite a while.

Can't make the meeting? The SFCTA is accepting comments by mail or email. Please address the following questions:

• Have you observed shuttles operating or stopping in your neighborhood? Where and how often?
• What trip purpose(s) do the shuttles serve (e.g. work, school, recreation or other needs)?
• What benefits and/or impacts have you observed from shuttles in your neighborhood?
• What role do you see shuttles playing in your neighborhood?

Direct comments to Margaret Cortes, margaret.cortes@sfcta.org, San Francisco Transportation Authority, 100 Van Ness Avenue, 26th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102.

And if you think shuttle drivers are dangerous, or if the buses are creating hazardous conditions contact the SFPD and Bevan Dufty. This recent note from Capt. Dennis O'Leary of the Ingleside station to Officer Kathy Pubill suggests they'll act: "Please evaluate and determine what codes are being violated. Contact the bus company with suggestions to stop the complaints."

If this SAR creates law, the SFPD won't have to attack this ad hoc.

Note -- If you go to the meeting on the 26th, please send us minutes to post. Thanks!

[SFCTA: Resolution No. 09-27]
[NVV: Google Shifts Bus Stop to Church Street]