Valleywag
Yahoo has indeed axed its San Francisco-to-Sunnyvale shuttles, a tipster tells us, confirming a longstanding rumor. Ah, but here's the twist: Yahoo has replaced earth-friendly biodiesel buses from Compass Transportation with vehicles from Bauer's Limo. No one told Yahoo's purchasing department that today is Earth day. Bauer's also supplies Google with shuttles, but according to our tipster, Yahoo is getting the dregs of its fleet:
Looks like you guys were correct about Yahoo's SF shuttles — today we switched over to Bauer's Limo as the shuttle vendor. Day 1 so far has been a sheer disaster: on almost every route the buses were at least 40 mins late. No contact numbers were available and the old shuttle dispatch was ringing Compass Transportation number. When the buses would show up, they'd have drivers who looked and drove as if it was their first day on the job — going at around 40mph on an empty stretch of 101. Apparently, the management at Yahoo hasn't grasped the main concept in IT: don't fix it if it ain't broke. Oh, and as far as promised working wifi, leather seats, power outlets, and cupholders — no will do: none of the buses had any of these amenities. I guess if this keeps up, most SF folks will start looking for jobs elsewhere, delivering the promised cost savings.(Photo by Michael Strauch)
Comments
Interesting. Yahoo! implied that your rumors were false.
Valleywag: 1 (well, more like -2,000), Yahoo: 0 (well, more like -4,551).
Those Bauer pricks never fail to hog the far left lane during heavy after work traffic, while rolling along at a placid pace 20mph slower than the flow of traffic. I hate them so much.
Wow, wrong.
The new buses just haven't been "wrapped" yet - *all* of the buses use Biodiesel just like the old Compass pieces of shit.
Valleywag, you were wrong - there was *NO* cutback in service and while the first day was rough (what first day of any launch isn't?) the service is actually *expanded* and is on far better vehicles.
PS - Bauer has actually ordered *new* buses for Yahoo (newer than the Google ones) however they weren't received in time for the launch.
Nice try, scooped again by your own people.
If a company has undergone layoffs and is trying to cutback on spending, why waste the money on "wrapping" these buses?
The Y! brand is well established. They don't need to call attention to the fact that they are still chauffeuring their spoiled employees around in buses. These employees are making enough money and can afford to be paying for their own transportation.
In honour of Earth Week (or whatever), I rented a Hummer and "drove" (more like "idled") around NYC in rush hour traffic. Vancouver, BC, just had its latest snowfall on record. How the hell can we speed up this "globull warming"? I'm doing my part.
Your tipster obviously needs to replace that seeing eye dog...
All the Y! buses are brand new, complete with new bus smell.
If this ungrateful tipster is complaining about the lack of leather seats and cup holders (boohoo, I want my mommy), maybe it's time he/she did move onto another company, or even better use the Caltrain.. I hear they have faux leather headrests and cup holders in 1 of 3 seats.
Is anyone really surprised by the crappy service provided to Yahoo by Bauer's? I have friends @ Google who tell me horror stories about rude, reckless drivers, poorly maintained buses that break down on the freeway, etc. etc.
As for me, I was one hour late for work today because my "new, deluxe bus with leather seats and cup holders (not) showed up late with no communication to our faithful group of commuters. I guess if Yahoo saves enough money on service cutbacks we can successfully stave off the Microsoft unfriendly takeover that is inevitable...this is a textbook case of people who don't use the service dictating the lives of those of us who do...
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