Activists in San Francisco’s Mission District were fighting a losing battle against rising rents. Supervisor David Campos declared a moratorium on new housing to give the district a chance, but the Board of Supervisors vetoed his proposal. Development slowed, and even a proposed 10-story apartment building known as “the Monster” was abandoned.

The real trouble began with the ubiquitous Google buses. A mid-level employee, Cari Spivack, noticed she spent 45 minutes each way commuting from her home in Bernal Heights to Mountain View. She had an idea: if a biotech company could shuttle its employees, why couldn’t tech giants do the same?

Spivack pitched the concept to Larry Page, who loved the idea of reducing Google’s carbon footprint. The first shuttle picked up at Glen Park and Candlestick Park, making two trips daily. With almost every employee responding positively, Spivack expanded routes and even added Wi-Fi for everyone to work on the move.

But the buses became a symbol. They were called “fucking Google buses,” a moniker that sparked years of political debate about gentrification and tech’s impact on San Francisco. While some saw them as necessary, others feared they were exacerbating inequality in the city.