Tech Buses Remain, But Housing Crisis Persists in San Francisco

San Francisco is facing another housing crisis, this time driven by AI and tech. A decade ago, protests erupted against Google buses as a symbol of the city's gentrification problem. The buses remain, but many of the protesters have been priced out.

Chirag Bhakta, who grew up in the Tenderloin, was one of the protest leaders. His family had lived there for years, working minimum-wage jobs to afford rent. But when Google moved into the area, rents skyrocketed and evictions became common.

Manissa Maharawal, a professor of anthropology at American University, estimates that tech buses made 4,100 stops in San Francisco per day in 2016. The city eventually codified regulations on tech bus routes and fees for using Muni stops. However, the problem persists, with rents soaring and evictions hitting a 10-year high.

Many of the original protesters have been forced to leave the city, moving to cities like Union City, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Durham, North Carolina. Some remain, but their grip on their apartments is tenuous at best.