Google’s ambitious dive into the world of electric transportation faced an unexpected roadblock… or rather, a hill.
According to World Peace Exclusive, the tech’s lauded “100% Electric Bus” took on San Francisco’s iconic hilly terrain, only to lose power midway up, roll backward, and turn into a four-wheeled pinball, colliding with reportedly a total of nine vehicles on its unintended descent.
The electric behemoth is part of Google’s fleet of approximately 140 luxury buses, primarily used to transport Google’s employees from various parts of San Francisco, the East Bay and other Bay Area locations to the firm’s Mountain View headquarters.
However, the recent accident involving the electric bus in San Francisco indicates that Google’s ambitious eco-friendly initiatives may have a few bumps — or rather, a few rolls — to iron out. The incident shone a light on the potential issues of powering large vehicles up the city’s famously steep hills.
As the bus lost power, it began to roll backward, creating a path of mild destruction by colliding with nine vehicles on its way down, according to World Peace Exclusive.
Google has made no official comment on the incident, and no information is currently available at this time.
WATCH:
Breaking News: World Peace Exclusive – Google’s Electric Bus Loses Power on Uphill Climb, Rolls Backward According to Newton’s Law, Colliding with 9 vehicles on the way down. Castro Neighborhood. Thank You Xian Ke. @stillgray pic.twitter.com/3aRfUxKFCd
— World Peace Movement (@darren_stallcup) November 6, 2023
The San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFMTA) passed a resolution in 2018 to convert its bus fleet to 100% electric by 2035. The resolution requires SFMTA to begin purchasing 100% battery-electric buses (BEBs) starting by 2025. The first ten battery-electric buses have entered revenue service.
The SFMTA’s Sustainability and Climate Action Program explains that the agency’s greater goal is an all-electric fleet and a carbon-neutral San Francisco by 2040.
