Uber and Lyft, two companies that help you get a ride, are threatening to cease operations in Austin following the rejection of a measure called Proposition 1 which would have protected drivers that drive for services like Uber and Lyft from stricter background checks. Both companies have threatened to stop operating their service in Austin by Monday.
Voters in Austin, Texas rejected Proposition 1, had it passed, it would have barred the city from making drivers undergo mandatory fingerprinting for background checks. The majority, 56 percent to be precise, voted against Proposition 1 which means that the path is clear for the city to implement these stricter background check measures.
Both Uber and Lyft maintain that these enhanced measures are ultimately going to hurt drivers, with the latter saying that this move will make it harder for part-time drivers to join, “the rules passed by city council don’t allow true ride sharing to operate,” Lyft said in a statement.
“Disappointment does not begin to describe how we feel about shutting down operations in Austin,” said Uber’s general manager in Austin, while hoping that the city council will reconsider this ordinance so that they can work together to make the streets of Austin “a safer place for everyone.”
Austin’s mayor, who supports stricter background checks for drivers who drive for Uber and Lyft, said that even though residents like using these services they have drawn a line “at allowing them to write their own rules.”