How does the return of Uber and Lyft affect Austin?

Uber and Lyft returned to the city May 29 after Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill establishing statewide ride-hailing regulations.

The statewide law superseded municipal rules, such as Austin’s requirement for ride-hailing drivers to undergo fingerprint-based background checks. Uber and Lyft left Austin after the failure of a ballot proposition calling for looser regulations of the local ride-hailing industry.

Under the former ordinance, adopted in December 2015, an app-based ride-hailing company with dynamic pricing, also known as a transportation network company, had to apply for an operating authority from the city. The company was also expected to have 99 percent of its drivers compliant with the fingerprinting mandate.

The state law covers transportation network companies only. Taxicab and other ground transportation services drivers in Austin still have to be fingerprinted.