Facebook Kicks Off 90 Day Water Taxi Pilot Program

Following a Google experiment of the same nature, Facebook has kicked off a 90-day water ferry pilot program that shuttles its employees to work over water. The program — taking place in San Francisco — involves a 30-person catamaran that runs betwixt San Francisco and Redwood ports.

Presently, the pilot program has the water taxi shuttling employees to work twice a week. Less the distance be covered in a span of boring water treading, employees are provided with access to wireless Internet, as well as coffee and snacks, which may not be the best idea for those who are without their sea legs.

The water taxi doesn't take the workers the full distance to work, docking at AT&T Park and then leaving workers to hop on a chartered bus for a remaining ten-minute ride to Menlo Park. The water trips are available for free to the workers on Tuesday and Friday, and according to the SF Chronicle, will halt in the end of April.

The purpose behind it seems obvious — by using a water taxi, the employees aren't taking up space on chartered buses utilizing public bus stops — something many citizens have taken issue with in recent time. How much the social network is paying for its pilot program isn't known, but the SF Chronicle is reporting a $1.75 per-passenger fee and a $95-per-day docking fee.

VIA: PCMag

SOURCE: SF Chronicle