Sponsored link
Thursday, April 16, 2026

Sponsored link

City Beat: $1 billion fine for Google?

 

I’ve always thought San Francisco could use a Displacement and Neighborhood Impact Agency. I’ve argued that every major development, tax break, etc. should require not just an Environmental Impact Report but a Displacement Impact Report: How many San Franciscans will lose their homes, and how many nonprofits and small businesses will be forced out by the project? That way we could look at the tradeoffs: Is the Twitter tax break worth a few hundred evictions and commercial displacements?

So now, at least on the web, we have one. And the folks who have created it estimate that the fines Google and the other companies with private buses don’t pay for stopping in Muni bus stops (at $271 a pop for ordinary folks) are equal to $1 billon: There are more than 200 Muni stops that get used a total of 7,100 times a day. Add that up over two years (2011-2013) and you get a lot of cash. (more after the jump)

Marke B.
Marke B.
Marke Bieschke is the publisher and arts and culture editor of 48 Hills. He co-owns the Stud bar in SoMa. Reach him at marke (at) 48hills.org, follow @supermarke on Twitter.

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Sponsored link

Sponsored link

Latest

Live Shots: Lamb of God took the Masonic ‘Into Oblivion’

Virginia heavy metal legends' full-throttle show transformed venue onto vortex of cathartic aggression.

Drama Masks: Of tyrannical kings and dancing kilts

SF Ballet's 'La Sylphyde' goads us to run to the woods; NCTC's 'how to make an American son' picks at the myth of meritocracy

Screen Grabs: In the trenches of democracy with Amy Goodman

Bracing 'Steal This Story, Please!' Plus: Soderbergh's intelligent 'The Christophers,' biting 'Continental '25,' spectral 'Dry Leaf'

What the new Chakrabarti poll really shows

The real question is not just percentage—it's who votes

You might also likeRELATED