Uber and Lyft just lost an expensive game of political brinkmanship.
In a case billed as Silicon Valley money verse Texas public servants, a vote was held Saturday in Austin to decide whether the city’s existing rideshare laws would be overturned in favour of the companies’ preferred rules, contained in Proposition 1.
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Of particularly concern to Lyft and Uber was the city’s requirement that their drivers undergo a fingerprint-based background check, in addition to existing security checks — a burden the companies claimed was untenable. The pro-Proposition 1 lobby group, Ridesharing Works for Austin, pointed to reported drops in drunk driving, among other issues, in an attempt to convince the Austin public. It didn’t work. Read more…
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