Uber, Lyft returning to AustinUber and Lyft will relaunch services in Austin on Monday, now that Texas lawmakers have passed a bill overriding local regulations on ride-hailing companies. [...]
Uber and Lyft left Austin after the Austin City Council passed an ordinance in December 2015 requiring ride-hailing companies to perform fingerprint background checks on drivers, a stipulation that already applies to Austin taxi companies.
Uber and Lyft fiercely opposed the rules, gathering petition signatures to force a public vote and spending nearly $9 million on an unsuccessful campaign asking voters to overturn the regulations. Following the vote, both companies halted services in Austin, and the resulting ride-hailing vacuum attracted several start-up ride-hailing apps that agreed to comply with the city's rules. [...]
Following the passage of the bill in both chambers, Austin Mayor Steve Adler issued a statement saying he was "disappointed" the Legislature voted to nullify regulations the city had implemented.
"Our city should be proud of how we filled the gap created when Uber and Lyft left, and we now must hope that they return ready to compete in a way that reflects Austin's values," Adler wrote.
The attendees of South by Southwest will be so relieved.
Can Texas do anything right?
Remember the Alamo? Oh wait.
I want to live in an Alternate Reality Texas, where the collider was built, where the tech giants had a bigger influence than the giant churches, and where that stupid, fierce streak of independence actually applied to the state government as well.
That place is called "California."
Ah, our beloved Lege. Always advocating for more local control. Except when they don't.
Forgot to mention -- Uber "apologized," so everything is OK now.
The only appropriate big government is the state government.