We like things to be efficient and fast, so it's logical that we'd set up a shuttle service for all the Googlers driving to Mountain View from San Francisco every day. Doing it in a Googley way, we went a step further than providing a shuttle. Our bus runs on biodiesel fuel. This clean-burning alternative to gasoline is produced from renewable - and domestically grown - resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, is biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. It has lower emissions than petroleum diesel, too. It's less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar.
It does cost more than regular diesel, but consider this: The Google shuttle carries an average of 155 employees a day. Each run totals about 75 miles - that's 11,625 miles a day we're not driving. If the average car gets 25 mpg, then we're saving some 465 gallons of gas a day, or 2,325 gallons a week - weekly savings of $4,998.75 (figuring $2.15/gallon).
Between the shuttle's wireless access and the earth-friendly fuel, it's hard to imagine getting more out of a daily commute. Although now that I think about it, a helicopter might be nice.
- Cari Spivack
Engineering operations project manager & SF shuttle organizer
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