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JJ Velasquez, Editor[/caption]
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The statewide law superseded municipal rules, such as Austin’s requirement for ride-hailing drivers to undergo fingerprint-based background checks.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.
