Shuttle Connection
Shuttle Connection was a revamp of LinkedIn's corporate shuttle focused on helping Bay Area employees commute to the LinkedIn HQ in Sunnyvale.
Client Context
In the corporate world, there are few names bigger than LinkedIn. With over 300 million active users, it's no surprise that the company requires a team the size of a small city to keep the platform running. With 20,000+ employees, LinkedIn's headquarters spans over 29 acres in Sunnyvale, California. One of the toughest logistical issues facing LinkedIn employees is the commute. For employees, the daily trek to Sunnyvale can feel endless due to traffic, wasting hours on the road instead of being productive in the office or enjoying time at home with family. The only solution to this would be to move closer to SunnyVale, which is easier said than done, given the current Bay Area housing market. Driving is also wholly harmful to the company, as a driving workforce requires building and maintaining thousands of parking spots and reduces working time due to long commutes.
For these reasons, LinkedIn partnered with Via to introduce a microtransit shuttle for employees to reduce the negative impacts of long commutes, improve employee morale, and promote sustainability.
Project Overview
I was tasked with aiding the deployment of an expansion to the LinkedIn corporate microtransit shuttle serving the greater Bay Area. This consisted of efforts in software development, vehicle preparation, operational workflow development, and in-person employee training. All service vehicles were sourced with sustainability in mind, and the fleet consisted of Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles to ensure transit access for riders with disabilities.
Unique Factors / Challenges
Unique factors of this project were the following:
Operational testing
Rider change management
Vehicle fleet acquisition & preparation
Service Setup
Operational testing was a unique challenge because the project centered on technical & operation overhauls to a live operating service. This factor meant that testing processes and timing had to be altered to ensure the operational service wasn't impacted.
Rider change management was notable because employees were used to the previous shuttle system. With a large and diverse workforce, significant efforts, both digital and in-person, were undertaken to adequately prepare riders for the changes implemented.
Vehicle fleet acquisition & preparation were notable for multiple reasons. The first reason is due to the size of the vehicles used. The service used a mixture of minivans typical of Via services and large coach buses. The implementation of large buses required changes to typical operating procedures to accommodate these vehicles. Furthermore, a portion of operations was outsourced to an external company, requiring coordination between them and the Via team.
Finally, the setup of the service zone was significant. The zone was relatively large, spanning about 70 miles from Morgan Hill, south of Sunnyvale, upwards towards downtown San Francisco. In addition, the service used a hybrid rider pickup model, offering both door-to-door pickup and a more traditional bus-style operation with pickups at designated locations in the region. Significant efforts were made to accommodate the distance and the varied pickup model to ensure high-quality service within the region.
Achievements & Outcome
A white-label mobile application titled "Shuttle Connection"
A needed update to LinkedIn's corporate microtransit service, offering employees relief from long commutes and increased freedom of choice in where they reside.
Service of over 200 rides per day
