Why? This isn’t Austin’s fault. But your comment does speak to the efficacy of Uber’s PR campaign.
Austin has an ordinance which I believe requires taxicab drivers and pedi-cab drivers to be fingerprinted. The rideshare companies did not want to follow the law and mounted a $9,000,000 lobbying campaign to try to buy a local ballot election. They failed.
Rather than simply follow the ordinance and fingerprint their drivers– something even the people who pedal bicycle pedi-cabs are able to do– Uber & Lyft chose to throw a very public temper tantrum and leave the city.
The choice not to operate in Austin is solely Lyft & Uber’s. There is nothing stopping them from resuming operations immediately.
And not only did these companies throw a temper tantrum, but they are now attempting to exploit the situation by pre-empting the local ordinance with a new state law prohibiting the type of requirement that Austin has in place.
Uber’s attempt to usurp local governance is shameful.
Multiple “like” if I could. Fingerprinting drivers and doing background checks should be a high priority to let the public know that they (Uber and Lyft) have a concern about the safety of their customers. Shame on Uber and Lyft
let me see if I can understand this correctly. A politically maligned local government slaps yet another onerous regulation on Uber/Lyft to thwart free enterprise. Trying legitimize fingerprinting as a public screening would do about as good as preventing a Radicalized Jihadist from getting his hands legally on guns. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Let the public get their livery wherever they want and at their own risk. Government needs to stay out of the way.
They should sue the City of Austin.
Exactly!
Why? This isn’t Austin’s fault. But your comment does speak to the efficacy of Uber’s PR campaign.
Austin has an ordinance which I believe requires taxicab drivers and pedi-cab drivers to be fingerprinted. The rideshare companies did not want to follow the law and mounted a $9,000,000 lobbying campaign to try to buy a local ballot election. They failed.
Rather than simply follow the ordinance and fingerprint their drivers– something even the people who pedal bicycle pedi-cabs are able to do– Uber & Lyft chose to throw a very public temper tantrum and leave the city.
The choice not to operate in Austin is solely Lyft & Uber’s. There is nothing stopping them from resuming operations immediately.
And not only did these companies throw a temper tantrum, but they are now attempting to exploit the situation by pre-empting the local ordinance with a new state law prohibiting the type of requirement that Austin has in place.
Uber’s attempt to usurp local governance is shameful.
By all means, let’s not vette the Uber drivers for their background. Let anyone drive, even Muslims bent on killing infidels.
why not? they can already buy guns even if they’re on the terrorist watch list. i’d rather them not have guns than not be able to drive a car.
Multiple “like” if I could. Fingerprinting drivers and doing background checks should be a high priority to let the public know that they (Uber and Lyft) have a concern about the safety of their customers. Shame on Uber and Lyft
let me see if I can understand this correctly. A politically maligned local government slaps yet another onerous regulation on Uber/Lyft to thwart free enterprise. Trying legitimize fingerprinting as a public screening would do about as good as preventing a Radicalized Jihadist from getting his hands legally on guns. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Let the public get their livery wherever they want and at their own risk. Government needs to stay out of the way.