Tag Archives: Austin

Uber and Lyft do what they said they would

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve cut and run. Uber and Lyft made good on their threat to end Austin service Monday, pulling out two days after voters rejected their $9.1 million bid to overturn the city’s rules for ride-hailing companies. Their departure came despite … Continue reading →

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More on the Austin rideshare referendum

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The fallout continues to fall. Austin voters on Saturday decisively rejected Uber and Lyft’s $8.6 million bid to overturn the city’s rules for ride-hailing apps, bringing a stunning conclusion to the most expensive campaign in city history. The failure of … Continue reading →

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Austin rideshare referendum goes down

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Preliminary election day results in Austin show 56 percent of voters against Proposition 1, a ride-hailing ordinance supported by Uber and Lyft. With 76.76 percent reporting, 13,957 have voted against the ordinance and 10,901 have voted for. These numbers … Continue reading →

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Rideshare robocall lawsuit filed

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Ride-hailing company Uber was hit with a class-action lawsuit on Wednesday over “robo-text messages” the company has been sending Austin customers seeking their support for a controversial referendum on the ballot Saturday. The suit, filed … Continue reading →

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Austin Uber referendum update

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still a crapload of money being spent by Uber and Lyft to win this thing. In the last month, Ridesharing Works for Austin – the PAC established by transportation network companies Uber and Lyft – raised $4.9 million and … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail reboot: It’s all about the money

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t it always? The message was clear: If San Antonio-area officials aren’t willing to commit millions of dollars to planning a regional passenger rail line, Austin-area officials will reconsider their financial commitment to the project. The Capital Area and Alamo … Continue reading →

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GetMe waits in the wings

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No matter what happens with the rideshare repeal referendum in Austin, there will be at least one vehicle for hire company in the capital city. Early voting is underway in Austin on Proposition 1, where residents will decide which regulations … Continue reading →

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More on the Uber ultimatum

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Initial reaction is not terribly receptive. Ride-hailing giant Uber threatened Wednesday to stop operating in Houston unless city leaders amend local regulations the company said are making it tough for them to recruit drivers. The ultimatum, the latest skirmish in … Continue reading →

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Uber says it will leave Houston if it does not change its fingerprinting requirement

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I called it. Uber announced Wednesday that the company plans to cease operations in Houston if the city council does not repeal its existing regulations relating to vehicle-for-hire companies. Houston is one of two cities in the country where Uber … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Against Prop 1

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman urges a vote against the divisive referendum to repeal Austin’s ordinance regulating transit network companies like Uber and Lyft. Voting against Prop. 1 is the best way to ensure that Lyft, Uber and other ride-hailing service drivers, undergo … Continue reading →

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Early voting for May 7 elections begins today

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember that special election to fill out Mayor Turner’s unexpired term in HD139? Early voting for it – and for the other elections on the May 7 ballot – begins today. Who knew, right? Here’s the press release from … Continue reading →

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An outside view on Uber in Houston

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman looks at how Austin’s fight with Uber and Lyft over fingerprint requirements compares with other cities in Texas, including Houston. Officials in Houston said they decided early on that their city, despite having almost 2,500 licensed taxis, could … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail: Not dead yet

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a flesh wound, actually. The decision by Union Pacific to end its working relationship with Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) in February, was a blow in efforts to develop a passenger rail line between San Antonio and Austin. But … Continue reading →

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Lots of money being spent on the Austin Uber/Lyft ordinance referendum

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. David Butts, meet Goliath. Campaign finance reports filed Thursday for Austin’s ride-hailing services election show a beyond-massive lead in money for Ridesharing Works for Austin, the Uber- and Lyft-backed political action committee supporting a proposed ordinance that would become … Continue reading →

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Recycling officially re-upped

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That new recycling agreement with Waste Management was on Council’s agenda yesterday. Here’s a reminder of what it was about. Originally, Houston was to ink a four-year deal with Waste Management, paying a $95-per-ton processing fee, a nearly 50 percent … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court declines to intervene in Austin Uber referendum

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Who knew they could do that? The Texas Supreme Court on Monday declined to order the Austin City Council to rewrite the ballot language on the proposed ride-hailing ordinance that will go before voters May 7. Austin music manager Samantha … Continue reading →

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Uber to abandon Corpus Christi

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another one bites the dust. In what has become a familiar move for Uber, the vehicle-for-hire company announced Wednesday it will cease operations in Corpus Christi, pointing to “unnecessary” regulations recently adopted by the city. Corpus Christi’s City Council approved … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court asked to weigh in on Austin rideshare referendum

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course it is. The Texas Supreme Court has been pulled into the ongoing battle between Uber and the City of Austin. An Austin resident, supported by Uber, has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the ballot language … Continue reading →

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Our long national breakfast taco nightmare is finally over

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, peace in our time. With an escalating culinary battle threatening to destabilize the region, the mayors of Austin and San Antonio met Thursday morning to announce a taco truce. “As St. Paul admonishes us, let us not be … Continue reading →

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Freedom From Religion Foundation sues Abbott over Bill of Rights display

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From their press release: The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit today against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over his removal of the group’s Bill of Rights display from the Capitol. Abbott downed FFRF’s solstice display, intended to counter … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail setback

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Union Pacific dealt a major blow to a proposal to connect San Antonio and Austin with passenger rail by pulling one of its tracks from a possible plan. UP ended its agreement with the Lone Star Rail District to … Continue reading →

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Austin will vote on rideshare ordinance revision

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The month of May just got a lot more interesting. Let the people choose how to regulate Uber and Lyft, a divided Austin City Council decided late Thursday. The council, on a 2-8-1 vote, declined to adopt an ordinance underlying … Continue reading →

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TOP releases report on inefficiency of development tax subsidies

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: [Thursday], the Texas Organizing Project and the Workers Defense Project released a report on the ineffectiveness of tax subsidies in cities across Texas, and proposed ways to increase requirements for such deals in Houston to offer benefits … Continue reading →

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Another look at AirBnB

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. The hotel industry is starting to object. On Wednesday, a report funded by a national trade group claimed some Airbnb hosts function illegally and operate essentially as full-time hotels without the same health and safety oversight. It also says … Continue reading →

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Two more places that Uber won’t operate

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Goodbye, Galveston. Just days after the City Council passed an ordinance designed to regulate transportation networks, Uber has shut down its service in Galveston. Monday evening, people in Galveston who tried to use the phone app to order a ride … Continue reading →

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Maybe the state should regulate Uber and Lyft after all

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly reviews the current state of affairs with transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft and their fight against mandatory fingerprinting as part of the background checks that new drivers must ondergo, all of which is playing out … Continue reading →

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Petitioners may force vote to change Austin rideshare ordinance

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming there were no shenanigans, this is an impressive show of force. A group looking to overturn an Austin ordinance requiring fingerprinting of ride-hailing drivers said Monday it has gathered more than 65,000 petition signatures, more than three times what … Continue reading →

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Austin versus San Antonio on ridesharing

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Current reviews the state of play. In the spring of 2014, Lyft led the way in Austin, but the company launched without city approval and was eventually banned, along with Uber, which launched in the capital a short time … Continue reading →

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Maybe we just shouldn’t have nativity scenes on government property

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like the obvious answer to me. A “winter solstice” display by the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been ordered removed from the Texas Capitol after Gov. Greg Abbott called it a “juvenile parody.” The display had been approved by … Continue reading →

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Austin passes new vehicles for hire regulations

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll be very interesting to see how this plays out. Defying implied threats that such a vote would chase Uber and Lyft out of town, the Austin City Council late Thursday put into city statutes mandatory fingerprint-based background checks for … Continue reading →

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What people use B-Cycle for

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Rice University: A new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research finds that Sun Belt city residents are most likely to use bike-share programs for recreation, compared with users in the Midwest or Northeast, who regularly use … Continue reading →

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Everybody wants in on the rail action

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We’re like a magical land of opportunity for high-speed rail interests. For more than three years, Japanese-backed Texas Central Partners has drawn attention with its plans to develop a Dallas-Houston bullet train. While that project is furthest along, French and … Continue reading →

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If you really want to improve turnout in city elections

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is a plan that would do it. Councilman Ron Nirenberg [recently] called for a major change to local elections that he says would boost voter turnout and bolster public participation. The councilman said he’s spent years considering ways to … Continue reading →

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Uber returns to San Antonio

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They’re back. The ink had barely dried on the signed operating agreement when ride-hailing firm Uber restarted operations in San Antonio Tuesday, ahead of competitor Lyft, which agreed to a deal in August but has yet to implement services here. … Continue reading →

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