Monday, February 1, 2016

Ridesharing Group Puts Petition To City Council To Keep Uber, Lyft In Town

A group, made up of Austin Music People, ATX Safer Streets, the Old Austin Neighborhood Association, TechNet, Engage ATX, NetChoice, Uber, and Lyft--says it has now gathered 65,103 petition signatures from Austin voters, in its bid to stave off onerous rules for ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft from taking effect. The group, Ridesharing Works for Austin, said it is now waiting for Austin City Clerk Jannette Goodall to announce certification of its petition, which will trigger either adoption of ridesharing rules passed in 2014 by the previous City Council of Mayor Lee Leffingwell, or a public vote in May. Both Uber and Lyft have threatened to pull out of Austin, if more onerous rules--which include requirements for fingerprint-based criminal background checks for their drivers--are put into place.