Posted at 9:57 p.m. May 7
A proposition that would have repealed some regulations for ride-hailing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, in Austin failed on May 7, according to unofficial results from the Travis County Elections Division.
With all Travis and Williamson County polling locations reporting, results showed 48,673 votes, or 55.8 percent, against the measure and 38,539, or 44.2 percent, in support.
"The people have spoken tonight loud and clear," Mayor Steve Adler said in a statement. "Uber and Lyft are welcome to stay in Austin, and I invite them to the table regardless. Austin is an innovative and creative city, and we'll need to be at our most creative and innovative now."
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft said they plan to stop operations in Austin on May 9 as a result of the failed proposition.
"Lyft and Austin are a perfect match and we want to stay in the city. Unfortunately, the rules passed by City Council don't allow true ridesharing to operate," Lyft spokesperson Chelsea Wilson said in a statement. "Instead, they make it harder for part-time drivers, the heart of Lyft’s peer-to-peer model, to get on the road and harder for passengers to get a ride."
Posted at 7:36 p.m. May 7
Unofficial early voting results indicate Austin voters rejected a ballot measure May 7 that would have repealed certain regulations for ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.
Early voting results show 24,076, or 43.97 percent of voters who cast ballots, were in favor of the measure—known as Prop. 1—and 30,683, or 56.03 percent, were against, according to the Travis County Elections Division.
The election was called in February after area residents filed what City Clerk Jannette Goodall called “one of the biggest petitions [the city] had received in quite a while” in response to City Council’s December passage of new ride-hailing company regulations. The regulations included requirements for ride-hailing company drivers to undergo fingerprint-based background checks and follow protocols similar to those of taxicab drivers; the petition sought to remove some of those restrictions.
Because Austin City Council did not adopt the citizens’ petition, the city charter required the matter be put to voters in a citywide election.
Prior to the election, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and council members Delia Garza, Ann Kitchen, Pio Renteria and Ora Houston urged voters to reject the proposition. Mayor Steve Adler also announced his intention to vote against the proposition—thereby supporting tighter regulations for ride-hailing companies.
Representatives from Uber and Lyft have reported plans to stop their services in Austin should the city mandate fingerprint-based background checks.
Texas-based ride-hailing company Get Me said in April it was committed to staying in Austin and offering services regardless of the outcome of the election.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
