Protesters in the Mission District blocked tech buses for nearly an hour Thursday morning in San Francisco, tossing scooters into the street to waylay the commuters.
The activists, blocking buses at the intersection of 24th and Valencia streets, set off smoke bombs, chanted “we are unstoppable, another world is possible,” and carried signs that read “Techsploitation Is Toxic,” and “Sweep Tech Not Tents,” in reference to the city’s recent efforts to clear homeless encampments.
Electric scooters by companies like Lime, Spin and Bird have taken over San Francisco streets and sidewalks. They're controversial — and we tested one out for a quick ride.
Media: Alix Martichoux / SFGATESam Lew, 23, said she grew up in the Richmond District and has experienced firsthand how the influx of tech workers has gentrified her neighborhood and displaced residents across San Francisco.
“The city has been very aggressively sweeping people out who are living in tents and sitting on the streets. It’s very very clear that we are prioritizing technology over human beings,” she said, referring to the scooters frequently abandoned to block sidewalks on city streets.
State Senator Scott Wiener discussed the protest on social media and said activists and tech employees need to work together.
“We have real problems in San Francisco. We will solve them *only* if we work together,” Wiener tweeted. “Trashing scooters, blocking commuter shuttles so people can’t get to work, & demonizing people because of where they work isn’t how you make positive change.”
This isn’t the first time activists have targeted Google shuttles.
In 2013 and 2014, people protesting soaring housing prices, gentrification and economic inequality stood in the way of the tech buses to disrupt service.
Kelley Cutler, a human rights organizer for the Coalition on Homelessness, said technology companies, like Google, have a responsibility to communities where their employees live.
“With wealth and power they can make a lot of change,” she said. “Our city right now is dominated by greed and people are suffering and dying because of that.”