Austin City Council voted Feb. 11 against adopting language from a citizen petition on ride-hailing company regulations, meaning the issue will go before voters for a citywide election.
Thousands of Austin residents signed the petition after City Council in December passed
new regulations for ride-hailing companies—such as Uber, Lyft and Get Me, including a requirement for drivers to undergo fingerprint-based background checks.
According to the city charter, City Council had 10 days after the petition was verified to either accept the petition's terms or call an election on the issue.
A special meeting will be planned during the next week so council members can discuss what ballot language to include before officially calling for an election.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said a citywide election will likely cost the city between $600,000 to $800,000.
There were four options on the table Feb. 11 for City Council to consider regarding the ride-hailing petition:
- Accept the terms of the citizen petition, which called on City Council to revert ride-hailing company regulations back to original rules approved in 2014. Motion failed.
- Call an election and let voters decide the issue. Motion to be called.
- Approve an Adler-sponsored "innovation ordinance," which would rule out mandatory fingerprinting, allow for voluntary fingerprinting and could be passed in addition to calling an election to give voters the choice between the petition ordinance and the innovation ordinance. Motion failed.
- Come to an official contract agreement with Austin's ride-hailing companies that would be a compromise between the city and the petition ordinance and eliminate the need for an election. The agreement was signed by Uber, Lyft and Get Me, according to Adler, but City Council members voted against the petition ordinance, removing the agreement as an option. Motion not called.
Council members concluded the discussion by acknowledging the long and arduous road to calling an election.
