Forget SXSW: the big story is new laws, pushed by an army of lobbyists, may bring back the ridehailing giants While the annual Austin gathering for startups, tech firms, and innovators traditionally focuses on the latest trends, one of the biggest storylines from this week?s South by Southwest festival was how hard it was to get a ride.
Tech media sounded off about service disruptions last Saturday night, when two local ridehailing companies went down for hours with tech issues , arguing that the Texas city?which set itself apart last year when Uber and Lyft decided to leave the market?hadn?t quite filled the gap left by the multibillion dollar transportation network companies (TNCs).
But the outcry over a temporary service disruptions obscures the bigger transportation story out of Austin: legislation introduced in the Texas State Legislature this week that might help bring back Uber and Lyft, creating a big challenge for the startups still in town and threatening an experiment in independent ridehailing. Hearings in the state senate Tuesday debated the merits of a series of similar bills, all of which would establish statewide guidelines and overrule the city ordinance that requires ridehailing drivers to be fingerprinted (which is why Uber and Lyft left). Early reports from Texas Senate hearings suggest legislators seem to favor a more overarching approach.
?Our team is encouraged that the Texas Legislature is considering a statewide solution to ridesharing,? ...