Leap Transit was a

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California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

premium transit provider offering bus service for several months in 2015 before being shut down for noncompliance with regulations.

History

The company began operations in May 2013, running shuttle buses between San Francisco's

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and

financial districts Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and discipline of money, currency, assets and liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business Administration wich study the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of an o ...

. The service was run with a single chartered 36-passenger bus, owned and operated by the charter company. Leap operated briefly in 2013; the company later characterized it as a "beta test" before obtaining more financing. The company launched full operations in March 2015, operating four full sized buses, refurbished with new interiors. About $2.5 million in capital for its operations was provided by venture capital companies

Andreessen Horowitz AH Capital Management, LLC (commonly known as Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z) is an American privately held venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As of M ...

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, and Slow Ventures, as well as an investment by

Marc Benioff Marc Russell Benioff (born September 25, 1964) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. Benioff is best known as the co-founder, chairman and CEO of the software company Salesforce, as well as being the owner of ''Time (magazine ...

. Buses traveled only during morning and afternoon commute periods on ten to fifteen-minute headways. On May 20, Leap ceased operating after the

California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or PUC) is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition ...

(CPUC) issued a cease and desist notice to the company, saying it had been operating without permission from the authority, and had not provided proof of insurance, workers compensation, or compliance with driver testing. The company had been granted an "authority to operate," but not a license from the state; Leap said it believed it was operating legally, as because its service did not leave San Francisco it therefore fell under the purview of city regulations. The city, however, said it had given the CPUC regulatory authority. On July 15, Leap filed for

chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

, and two of its buses were listed for public auction in October.

References

{{SFBAtransit, state=collapsed Bus transportation in California Public transportation in San Francisco