Scott Peebles drives employees to their jobs at Apple, the wealthiest tech company in the world, yet he can’t afford a place to live.

The 53-year-old sleeps on an inflatable mattress in the back of his green 1997 Dodge Caravan, a space smaller than a walk-in closet. His morning routine is an exercise in hiding the fact he is homeless — he slides on his dry-cleaned uniform, shaves behind tinted car windows and uses a work restroom to freshen up before shuttling tech workers from Fremont to the company’s Sunnyvale campus.

“Living in a car is hard,” said Peebles, who is 6 feet tall and, after almost two months of sleeping in the car, has developed muscle aches and a stiff neck. “I don’t care who you are. ... It’s too small of a space.”

Peebles is part of a growing segment of homeless people who have full-time jobs but can’t make ends meet.

In the past decade, as tech jobs have boomed in Silicon Valley, so has rent. Average monthly rents for a one-bedroom apartment are $2,186 in San Jose, $2,469 in Oakland and $3,361 in San Francisco, according to research firm Real Answers. Salaries for tech shuttle drivers start at around $2,900 a month — making even modest nearby apartments unaffordable.

Instead of moving somewhere cheaper on the outskirts of the Bay Area — hours from their jobs — Peebles and several other tech bus drivers live in their cars.

“Right now I have a lot of financial obligations to take care of before I can even think of getting a place to live,” said one driver, who transports Apple employees from San Francisco to Cupertino. The driver, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, has been sleeping in the backseat of his Subaru for months, saving up to pay for health care related expenses and other bills.

As demand for even the tiniest apartments grows, landlords have the power to be extremely picky about tenants. Several struggling bus drivers have thousands of dollars in credit card debt and are single, which could make them less desirable than dual-income renters. Peebles has racked up $20,000 in credit card debt, some that was accumulated when he was caring for his mother. He’s open to having roommates, but says it’s hard to find a good match — someone his age without a volatile personality.

Apartments go fast

When Peebles finds apartments in his range, they get snapped up quickly, sometimes before he can even visit them. Scrolling through listings on his phone, he once saw an ad for studio apartments in San Jose for rent between $850 and $1,200 month. He checked in with the manager 30 to 40 times hoping to land a space.

“She told me to call every Wednesday. I called every Wednesday. (And it was) ‘Nope, nothing available,’” Peebles said. “So you give up. Why keep calling these people who are not going to move out?”

In August, he inflated an air mattress in a minivan and called it home. He hangs his shirts on the hooks above the doors and spends nights reading books at Barnes & Noble until closing time. He used to check out movies like “Field of Dreams” from the public library and watch them on his handheld DVD player — until it was stolen from his van.

“I don’t see myself in this minivan,” said Peebles, who showers at his sister’s apartment in San Jose. “I see myself in an apartment or mobile home, living in a comfortable setting.”

Santa Clara County, where Apple, Google and Yahoo are based, estimates it has more than 6,500 homeless people, and a growing number of them — 23 percent — are living in cars or RVs, according to a 2015 census by Applied Survey Research. In 2013, 16 percent of the area’s homeless population was living in vehicles, the nonprofit said. About 8 percent of 900 homeless people in Santa Clara County surveyed in 2015 earn more than $1,500 a month, according to Applied Survey Research.

The Chronicle interviewed several drivers employed by Compass Transportation, a firm with contracts at Apple, Zynga, eBay, Yahoo, PayPal and Genentech, who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears they would lose their jobs.

It’s difficult to tell which drivers are homeless because they take pains to hide the fact they live in their cars. They sip frappuccinos and charge their smartphones at Starbucks, wash their clothes at Laundromats and shower at 24-hour gyms. At night, some South Bay parking lots are dotted with cars hiding people catching a nap before their day jobs.

Pay doesn’t keep up

Peebles moved to San Jose last fall to escape a bedroom infested with bedbugs in New York, where he worked driving a shuttle transporting disabled people. His uncle took pity on him and paid for his plane ticket to San Jose, so Peebles could be closer to his sister and start anew.

Working for Compass Transportation, Peebles started at $18 an hour. His wages rose to $19.50 when he completed a professional certification. Earlier this year, amid a campaign to unionize tech bus drivers, Apple raised the base salaries of its drivers and offered a bonus for employees like Peebles, who work a morning and evening shift on the same day. But even with that raise to about $30 an hour, Peebles hasn’t been able to find a place near the bus yard.

Long commute, little sleep

Letetia Davis, a single mom who shuttles eBay employees, couldn’t afford her Oakland apartment after rent went up in 2013. She now endures a grueling four-hour round-trip commute from north Stockton, operating on just four hours of sleep each night. Davis, 42, makes $2,400 after taxes each month, and her living expenses come dangerously close to what she makes.

She pays $900 a month for a three-bedroom apartment. Her car’s transmission died, so she recently bought a used 2013 Ford Fusion, and payments are nearly $500 a month because of Davis’ poor credit history. Then, there is more than $1,000 in other necessary expenses — food, electricity, gas and cell phone bills. Not to mention tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.

“It’s like you’re a paycheck from being homeless,” Davis said. “It turns into a vicious cycle because you never catch up.”

She once was a cardiac technician, but after failing to land jobs in that field, she studied to become a bus driver. Now, most of her days are spent on the road.

Her iPhone alarm jolts her awake at 3 a.m. She drops off her 12-year-old daughter, Lisa, at grandma’s and then heads to the Compass bus yard in San Francisco, arriving by 5 a.m. Her morning shift ends at 10:15 a.m. at the Compass bus yard in San Jose. She doesn’t work again until 4 p.m., but during that time she does not get paid. Davis spends her long break napping in her bus, or gobbling up instant noodles from the lot’s vending machine. Then, she musters up the energy for the long haul back.

“You’re so tired, you’re struggling to keep your eyes open,” Davis said.

It’s around 10 p.m. by the time Davis sees her daughter in Stockton. “I want to make sure you got home,” her daughter says. Sometimes Davis is so tired she doesn’t even eat dinner.

Can’t qualify for aid

Davis tried to apply for financial assistance through federal housing vouchers, but was told she didn’t qualify because she earns too much. To qualify for assistance in Stockton, Davis would need to make $23,850 or less. She makes a gross annual salary of roughly $34,500.

“I have to worry about, ‘Am I going to come home and the landlord changes the locks because I didn’t pay the rent?’” Davis said. “But I can’t get help, because I make too much money. How does that work?”

Similar programs in Oakland and San Francisco have closed their wait lists because of an abundance of demand.

“The need far outweighs the supply of housing,” said regional spokesman Ed Cabrera of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “People are vying for a spot on a wait list that is years long.”

Push for unions

In a push for higher wages, some tech shuttle drivers have joined unions. Compass is negotiating with the Teamsters union, which represents tech bus drivers, but so far, Compass has not agreed to the proposed union contract, which includes 11 paid holidays, higher salaries and overtime pay.

“Compass has long been committed to providing our valued employees competitive wages and benefits and a respectful work environment,” said Bryan O’Connell, senior vice president of the bus division for Compass Transportation, via e-mail.

O’Connell pointed out that drivers at the high end of Compass’ pay scale can earn as much as $72,000 per year.

Peebles hopes that one day he won’t be homeless. After all, it’s hard to date someone when you’re living in your car.

On Friday, Peebles learned he was at the top of the list for a San Jose garage that had been converted into a windowless 400-square-foot studio. The monthly rent is $1,395 — but Peebles said it beats living in his car.

“I can’t live like this. My health is suffering,” Peebles said.

If all goes well, Peebles plans on cleaning out his Caravan and giving it to his colleague who sleeps in his Subaru. At least his co-worker could stretch out in the van.

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee