Sponsored link
Tuesday, February 24, 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

Karl Marx at the Antiquarian Book Fair; or, anybody got $134,900 to spare?

57th edition of rare volume exhibition brings treasures to Pier 27—and some ironic commodity fetishism.

No, taxes on billionaires won’t destroy innovation in California

Tax opponents are putting out a line that makes no sense; just look at Bay Area tech history

Noise Pop Diary: Indie legend Christopher Owens returns, with a flamenco twist

The Girls frontman has been through hell, but has kept making music; his presence brought roars from the local crowd.

Under the Stars: Carlos Niño & Friends deliver a glad-to-be-alive moment

Plus: Celebrate 50 years of San Francisco punk at Mabuhay Gardens, DJ Sep hits The Riptide, more.

You might also likeRELATED