Facebook has joined other companies in Silicon Valley by offering its workers cash to move closer to work.
The benefit, reported by Reuters, has come as commutes from San Francisco and the East Bay to the valley have increased. What was once a 60-minute drive is now 90 minutes.
Facebook s decision to put its headquarters at the old Sun campus in Menlo Park — basically in the middle of the bay — and then build a second giant office at the same location set it on a collision course with geography and commuting patterns.
With more workers wanting to live in San Francisco and the East Bay, as I have written, Facebook s headquarters presents a logistics problem.
The social networking firm is not close to a rail line, nor can you get there by water.
The company experimented with a ferry service to Redwood City. But then the drive from Redwood City to Menlo Park is no picnic.
Yes, Facebook workers do take the shuttle or car pool together in vans, but that means they are also on the roads.
Other companies, such as Box, have moved closer to rail lines — or into San Francisco — because they want to attract workers who want to live there, as I ve reported.
The housing benefit, which Facebook began to offer in the past 12 months, will likely affect rental and home prices on the Peninsula, particularly in places such as East Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, Reuters said. Locals refer the newcomers to the area los Facebuqueros, whether or not they work for Facebook.
A lot of local families are going to get hurt, John Liotti, chief executive officer of East Palo Alto community advocacy group Able Works, told Reuters.
Above: Hikers walk along a trail in Bay Front Park toward Facebook s office park on the sprawling baylands Monday, June 2, 2014, in Menlo Park. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
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