Twelve months after the transportation network companies voluntarily stopped serving the city, they will resume operations by way of statewide ride-hailing regulations expected to be signed into law on Monday.
"Austin is an incubator for technology and entrepreneurship, and we are excited to be back in the mix," Uber spokesperson Trevor Theunissen said. "Our local team is focused on making sure that Uber works for Austinites and helping our driver-partners earn. We know that we have a lot of work to do in the city, but we couldn’t be more excited for the road ahead."
Theunissen, who handles public affairs for Uber's Southern operations, including Texas, said the company's "intention is to turn the app back on shortly after [Gov. Greg Abbott's] stroke of the pen is finished."
House Bill 100, which establishes statewide regulations for the ride-hailing industry, strips away local ordinances, such as the one the city of Austin enacted in December 2015. A May 2016 attempt by Uber and Lyft to reverse the city's ordinance to previous, and less strict, rules was voted down in the form of a ballot proposition—keeping the mandate for ride-hailing drivers to undergo fingerprint-based background checks in place among other regulations.
"We are really excited to be back serving the city of Austin again," said Aaron Fox, Lyft's general manager for the area.
Fox added the rates have stayed the same since Lyft ceased operations in the city, and the biggest new feature is Lyft's amp, which replaced the company's trademark glowing mustache on drivers' dashboards.
The amps are integrated with the app and provide features to ensure the user has entered the correct vehicle, he said. Those include a display that shows the name of the passenger who requested the ride. When using the app, the user's phone will also glow the same color as the driver's amp.
Austin implications
The new law does not bear any implications for traffic enforcement at the Austin Police Department, spokesperson Lisa Cortinas said. She advised anyone hailing a ride to make sure the vehicle they are entering is authentic.
"Make sure somebody knows where you are," Cortinas said. "Let a loved one know you’re going to be taking a cab or another ride-sharing service home and where are they picking you up from."
Under the state law, the city of Austin will no longer have authority to permit drivers or transportation network companies. The city collected fees from companies operating a ride-hailing service in the city in the past year. Those companies included Wingz, RideAustin, Fasten, Fare and GetMe.
"Unfortunately, because there will be no fees paid by transportation network companies for use of the city’s roadways, that cuts into our enforcement operations and makes things a little bit more difficult," said Cheyenne Krause, spokesperson for the city's transportation department.
Krause said that because the state law covers transportation network companies only, taxicab drivers for taxicab companies and other ground transportation services will still have to be fingerprinted. She said connecting those drivers with fingerprinting services will remain a function of department staff.
