The Friday Journal section of the Wall Street Journal (March 16) has an article titled "The Hot Spot for the Rising Tech Generation" that is highlighting Noe Valley and the Mission as the scenes of intense bidding wars for houses and lofts. Median home prices in the Mission grew 44% in December (year over year).
The hottest properties are near corporate shuttle bus stops--where employees for companies like Google, Facebook, Genentech, LinkedIn and Apple line up daily for the ride to Silicon Valley. Real-estate agent Amanda Jones calls it the "Shuttle Effect" and said proximity can command as much as a 20% premium. Some real-estate agents said they're dying for a map of where the buses pick-up. "When a listing gets deluged with people--that tells me it's close to a stop." said Ms. Jones.
Some companies share a few of the same stops, occasionally leading to employees getting on the wrong bus. Discussions can get animated about adding or moving a stop....
I have seen the return side of this service in action here in B'game as employees spill out of 330 Primrose in the evening and board the shuttles. We are on at least two routes that load in front of and on the side of the building
We've talked about B'game as a long-time tech town and more recently as the site of a few start-ups; some of whom are willing to put up with sketchy power feeds from PG&E that wreak havoc on data centers that can't afford full back-up. Having this kind of shuttle service is great exposure to B'game for the next generation of home buyers. As the Journal article notes "they also want something (in the city) that they will be able to sell for more money in five years, when they might have to move to the suburbs for better schools." That trend is everlasting.
P.S. These two photos were taken earlier this month before the time change as I was pondering the blog post--our local "young tech executives" are knocking off around 7pm...not the 8 or 8:30 that the photos might imply.
Posted by: Joe | March 18, 2012 at 02:54 PM
Joe, I take it you're not on the freeway much, because the shuttles they are talking about look nothing like your pictures. They are expensive white buses with black tinted windows and soem are double decker. Also, they are full up from 3:30pm and all night long. Here's a picture of what the shuttles look like:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-51605884/stock-photo-new-modern-bus-with-tinted-windows-waiting-for-passengers.html
Posted by: fred | March 19, 2012 at 10:35 AM
Beg to differ, sir. I didn't just observe the shuttles, I also saw them loading with plenty of 20-somethings carrying the required messenger bags and iPhones and talking about web design. I'm certain there isn't only one or two standards for the shuttles. By the way, from the WSJ photo, the Facebook buses are Facebook blue.
Posted by: Joe | March 19, 2012 at 11:34 AM
The youngsters are enjoying coffee and lunch downtown and now I know why I don't see as many of them at dinnertime. Thanks for the observation and I agree with you that this is an investment in the future of Burlingame whether it be the home prices or just the charm that we need to maintain to stay Burlingame.
Posted by: Alan | March 19, 2012 at 09:42 PM
These shuttles have become so popular that SF is looking at requiring the 27 operators to get permits. About 36,000 one-way trips per day according to this SF Examiner piece
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2012/10/rules-proposed-commuter-shuttle-buses-san-francisco
Posted by: Joe | October 18, 2012 at 04:00 PM
Does anyone wonder how this industry works?
Look it up.
Organized Crime, undoucmented-unlicened, un-insured drivers.
The shuttles are just taking advantage of the lack of overite.
Posted by: Holyroller | October 18, 2012 at 08:11 PM