Every few years, a Silicon Valley gig-economy company announces a “disruptive” innovation that looks a whole lot like a bus. Uber rolled out Smart Routes a decade ago, followed a short time later by the Lyft Shuttle of its biggest competitor. “The concept of Route Share is not new,” he admitted—though he never used the word “bus.” Instead, pictures of horse-drawn buggies, rickshaws, and pedicabs appeared onscreen. “Everybody will say, ‘Silicon Valley’s reinventing the bus again,’” Shen said. “Barely any of that is in place for Uber.” This, he said, is a pivot toward a public-transit model without public accountability.