Uber pulling out of Austin due to Prop 1 being rejected by Voters

[Scerpi]

And Lyft

I'm not sure what to think about this. Here in Texas, Austin is the fun and unique place where people march to their own drum and Texans love them for it. Uber seems to be the kind of company that fits right in at Austin. Progressive and independent. But Austin decided to enact an Ordinance in December to tighten regulations on Uber and generate more money from them. I think these were the highlights of the ordinance they tried to repeal.

- Requiring fingerprinting and a background check against the FBI Database
- 1% Fee or Tax paid to the City of Austing
- Eliminating the ability of Uber/Lyft to adjust rates based on demand. (IE - Increase rates during a convention, etc). Cab fees are determined by the City I think?

The news reports (and Uber) seem to be focusing on the background checks/finger printing. But the second two items are probably more significant to Uber although they may not want to come out and publicly state it.

Are stricter background checks seem like a good thing? I don't necessarily agree, but I can see why some might want it.

It seems that this might be a victory for the Cab Companies.

 

[clutchCAT420]

F Uber services. More cities should take note. These companies try to make profit and avoid paying their drivers and cities their fair part. Good riddance.

 

[Prime Ang]

F Uber services. More cities should take note. These companies try to make profit and avoid paying their drivers and cities their fair part. Good riddance.

Everyone I know that is a uber driver makes solid money.

 

[sub_thug]

I can see #1 deterring people from becoming Uber drivers, which is of course how that business expands. If I have to fill out a bunch of forms, pay $50, drive to the Department of Public Safety building, and stand in line for an hour and a half during normal business hours when I should be at my real job, I'm probably not going to become an Uber driver. It's not worth the inconvenience and losses elsewhere.

The 1% fee probably isn't going to be much of a factor for either Uber or the city. That cost will just be passed along to the customers, and it's probably still a cheaper/better product for the consumer.

The adjusted rates will definitely hurt Uber/Lyft. The increased rates during SXSW, Austin City Limits, any Friday/Saturday night near E 6th St, and a bunch of other events are huge profit-generators. Demand goes up, overhead stays the same, and the profits per rider goes up sometimes 3-7X, depending on how much of a demand there is. This is great as consumer protection, but Uber is definitely pissed about this.

 

[Scerpi]

Everyone I know that is a uber driver makes solid money.

As widespread as Uber is, there's only been a few stories with issues with Uber and the two most high profile cases were from shitty customers, not the drivers. I could be mistaken though.

It seems Austin would want to embrace Uber because of the demographics. College kids can always use another source of income.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Here in Texas, Austin is the fun and unique place where people march to their own drum and Texans love them for it.

 

[lakersfan45]

Everyone I know that is a uber driver makes solid money.

how many people do you know that drive with uber? in the short term it seems okay but long term they end up making very little. its hard to make it viable as a primary income option.

 

[Prime Ang]

how many people do you know that drive with uber? in the short term it seems okay but long term they end up making very little. its hard to make it viable as a primary income option.

I know 2 or 3. It's also not set up to be a primary income option, it's set up to be a part time job where you make your own hours and work when you want.

 

[MusclesMarinara]

Austinism speaks

 

[Scerpi]

lol. Agree to disagree.

Don't agree with some of the politics but it's a fun city to visit

 

[Tuf_guy]

It seems that this might be a victory for the Cab Companies.

I'm picturing a dirty politician with the Cab industry lobbyists' hand up his ass (puppet style/figuratively speaking... I'm not literally imagining fisting as I write this). But maybe the cabs don't have lobbyists, lol.

 

[Daverisimo]

lol. Agree to disagree.

Don't agree with some of the politics but it's a fun city to visit

Personally, Austin and Corpus Christi are the only places in Texas I'd live in by choice.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Don't agree with some of the politics but it's a fun city to visit

I know lots of people who love Austin, including two of my sisters and at least one of my brothers. Plenty of current and former co-workers.

To be fair, I haven't been in forever, probably since 2000 or so, and my experiences with the place are extremely limited - from what I've heard it's very expensive there and extremely liberal, neither of which appeal to me, lol.

 

[Dogstarman]

To be fair I love I Austin. I went to school there. I want to move back there. I have family there. I do hate the shitty ass traffic though.

 

[RedRocket44]

I'm picturing a dirty politician with the Cab industry lobbyists' hand up his ass (puppet style/figuratively speaking... I'm not literally imagining fisting as I write this). But maybe the cabs don't have lobbyists, lol.

That`s how it`s been here in some places in Canada.

I`m not sure how it`s different in the States, but cab companies and lobbyists have been successful in some places in Canada in arguing that Uber driver`s in their personal car don`t have commercial insurance, and that they skirt having to pay fees to the city for a cab license, which the city typically has a certain number of, and auction off to the highest bidders (isn`t that how it`s done in the States?). Cities also set base / minimum rates for cabs, which don't apply to Uber.

I personally don't agree with the first part, because all Uber is doing is connecting driver to passenger. It's not all that different than when I drove a buddy an hour and a half to the airport, and he threw me money to cover the gas and a bit extra. All it's doing is opening a driver up to more potential clients instead of just personal friends. I don't think something like that should be subject to commercial insurance as opposed to typical personal auto insurance.

The second part I think is legitimate though, cities losing out on licensed cab revenue could be an issue. In the end that money goes to pay for whatever, and if people aren't buying cab licenses, or not for the same price, then that money will just need to be made up in other taxes.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Uber drivers are more pleasant, have more hygienic and appealing cars and let me pick the music.

 

[TeTe]

Uber drivers are more pleasant, have more hygienic and appealing cars and let me pick the music.

But some are complete idiots and get lost despite having a GPS or intentionally go the wrong way. I haven't always had good experiences with them.

Honestly I use UberTaxi more than Uber X here in Chicago..

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

But some are complete idiots and get lost despite having a GPS or intentionally go the wrong way. I haven't always had good experiences with them.

Honestly I use UberTaxi more than Uber X here in Chicago..

Never had a problem in Toronto

A lot of them even offer water. One had a tablet with a bunch of movies and shows downloaded on it.

Guess different cities have different experiences.

 

[TeTe]

Never had a problem in Toronto

A lot of them even offer water. One had a tablet with a bunch of movies and shows downloaded on it.

Guess different cities have different experiences.

It really depends on the driver you get. I was using UberX in San Diego for a week and none of the drivers offered anything like that and all but one was actually from San Diego and knew the city. I actually knew how to get around better than a lot of them.

But on the plus side, all of them were very friendly and conversed a lot, which is something that Uber driver rarely do in Chicago, because 90 percent of the people here are fucking miserable. At least out there, most people are fairly happy and it shows in the Uber drivers.

 

[clutchCAT420]

Everyone I know that is a uber driver makes solid money.

Not everyone is in the same city. It varies city to city. I'm for these drivers and vehicles being registered and licensed. The same as cabs.