Some of us were for Proposition 1, but more people voted against it. Different people had different reasons but that doesn’t change where we are today — at an impasse where Uber and Lyft say they won’t come back under our current ordinance and the changes they require are not acceptable to City Council. Meanwhile, Austin has no TNC operating at scale and our transportation options suck.
The main issue was around fingerprinting of drivers, but the election was lost on egos and emotions. Uber and Lyft’s campaign tactics offended the City Council and many voters. There was no agreement about the safety benefits of fingerprinting or the practical implications on the TNC business model because we just don’t have enough information. There was a game of chicken with Uber and Lyft threatening to leave and many doubting that they would actually do it.
The repercussions are severe. We expect the economic impact will be hundreds of millions of dollars in the end. We are less safe than we were before because there are thousands of black-market drivers picking up riders on Facebook and Craigslist. Startup TNC’s are overwhelmed. People are pissed and it’s only going to get worse.
That’s why Austinites for and against Proposition 1 are coming together to create RideAustin — a non-profit TNC whose only priority is Austin. There are vast financial and technical resources assembled and they have been working around the clock since a few days after Proposition 1 failed. There is a long way to go, but I believe it’s off to an impressive start and we have early indications that they will be successful.
We’ve heard already about how challenging it would be for someone to come take the place of Uber and Lyft. Some of the challenges faced by startup TNC’s that have launched in response to Proposition 1 haven’t been encouraging. With so much regulatory risk, it’s hard to attract the venture capital investment needed to launch a TNC business.
However, a non-profit TNC has some unique advantages. It’s easier to fund because contributions are tax deductible and investors aren’t focused on a financial return so the risks are different. As a non-profit and community-focused solution it has extra press and goodwill needed to achieve critical mass quickly. With a single-metro focus it doesn’t have to always worry about “how will this scale to hundreds of cities?”
This is going to be really, really hard, but I’ve seen the current demo and product roadmap and I believe this team can deliver. — Joshua Baer
If it weren’t for the world-class technical team behind this project and significant financial contributions from Austin Tech leaders, we wouldn’t give this a second glance. Big thanks should go out to Andy Tryba and the team at Crossover for diverting their resources and burning the midnight oil to get this done. Others from both sides of the issue have also spent countless hours on it and contributed a lot.
It’s like Uber and Lyft walked away from a factory full of workers and a long list of repeat customers. If RideAustin can act quickly to provide a high-quality solution then we can walk into the empty factory and start it up again, capturing a large portion of the market in a short period of time for a fraction of the cost.
The solution has got to be great. The app needs to be reliable and the service needs to be dependable. It might not be quite as fast as Uber or quite as cheap as Lyft Line, but Austinites just need to know they can press a button anywhere in the city and have a safe, reliable ride within a few minutes.
Was this my first choice? No way. I wanted Proposition 1 to pass so that Uber and Lyft would still be operating like they were a few weeks ago. But Proposition 1 failed and now we are hurting. It’s time to focus on what’s next for Austin instead of waiting months or years for someone else to fix it. — Joshua Baer
RideAustin will comply with all Austin ridesharing regulations. Drivers will be fingerprinted and vehicles will be inspected. They will use trade dress and won’t be allowed to drop-off in bus lanes. We’ll put them to the test in a totally transparent way and see how they work.
As a non-profit, there is an opportunity for unprecedented transparency. Many of the debates around Proposition 1 went in circles because there just isn’t enough data about TNC usage. We don’t know enough about how many drivers there are, how many riders there are, or how they use the service. We don’t really know for sure whether TNC’s are safer than Taxis or not.
RideAustin will be completely transparent about all aspects of its operation and open the data up for research and study. In a few months we’ll all have a lot more answers and be able to have a more informed debate.
This is the opportunity for Austin to contribute to the global ridesharing debate. Let’s bring data to the table and answer some of these questions about safety and market dynamics definitively. We hope that researchers from all over the world use this data to learn more about urban mobility and make TNC’s even better.
We believe we should support all transportation solutions that meet some basic criteria.
This includes Uber, Lyft, GetMe and anyone else who wants to play along. Austinites should have multiple options.
Maybe we can do better than the duopoly that exists in most other markets around the world. Maybe the emergence of a free market in Austin — the only large city without Uber and Lyft — will attract the interest of other large technology players who want to enter the market. The obvious players are already here — Austin is already testing Google’s autonomous cars on the streets, Apple has their second largest office other than Cupertino here, and Mercedes launched Car2Go here. It’s not just small startups who will see this as an exciting opportunity.
We’re supporting RideAustin because it looks like the best option we’ve got and we’re not going to just sit around and do nothing. If you’ve got a better idea, we’re interested in supporting you, too. — Dan Graham
If you voted for Proposition 1 or against it, then you should support this community based initiative with your patronage and with your donations. Download the app to sign up as a rider or driver, post it to your Facebook Timeline or Twitter, and make a significant donation personally and from your company.
If you are an Austin-based business, you should pre-purchase travel credits for your employees or make a corporate donation. In order to launch successfully it takes up-front capital to hire drivers while both supply and demand builds.
This is the time for the Tech and Innovation Community to engage with the rest of our city and be part of the solution. We’re often criticized for not voting, not donating and only complaining when things don’t go our way. This isn’t just about Tech, but we should be the strongest supporters.
This is the perfect opportunity for the Austin Tech Community to work together with the rest of Austin to make Austin better.
David AltounianFounderMotion Computing
Mason ArnoldFounder & Cookie MonsterGreenling & Veggie Noodle Co
Gene AustinCEOBazaarvoice
Joshua BaerFounder & Executive DirectorCapital Factory
Evan BaehrFounder & CEOAble Lending
John BerkowitzFounder & CEOOjo Labs & Yodle
Bill BoebelFounder & CEOPingboard & Webmail
Kevin BrandCEO and Founder(512) brewing company
Sara T BrandFounding General PartnerTrue Wealth Ventures
Barbary BrunnerPresidentAustin Technology Council
Andrew BuseyFounder & CEOConversable
Maggie Louise CallahanFounder & CEOMaggie Louise Confections
Kevin CallahanCo-FounderMapMyFitness
Clayton ChristopherFounderSweet Leaf Tea, Deep Eddy Vodka & CAVU Ventures
Chelsea CollierPrincipalIntercambio
Craig CummingsCo-FounderRidescout
Gordon DaughertyDirectorCapital Factory
Sam DeckerCo-Founder Capital Factory & Mass Relevance (Spredfast)
Hugh ForrestDirectorSXSW Interactive
Richard GarriottFounderPortalarium & Origin Systems
Arlo GilbertCEOTelevero
Dan GrahamFounder & CEOBuildaSign & Notley Fund
Erik HuddlestonCEOTrendkite
Brett HurtFounderData.world, Bazaarvoice & Coremetrics
Bryan JonesEntrepreneur in ResidenceCapital Factory
Josh Jones-DilworthFounder & CEOJones-Dilworth International
Ricky JoshiCo-founder and CMOSaatva Luxury Mattress
Laura KilcreaseManaging DirectorTriton Ventures
Joseph KopserCo-FounderRidescout
Joe LiemandtFounder & CEOTrilogy
Higinio O. MaycotteCEOUmbel
Jack McDonaldCEOUpland Software
Bryan MenellCo-Founder Capital Factory
Mike MillardDirector of Innovation and Technology CommercializationAscension Health
Donald ParkChief of StaffVista Equity Partners
Nate PaulPresident & CEOWorld Class Capital Group
John PriceCEOVast
Mellie PriceFounderFront Gate Tickets, Softmatch & Capital Factory
Courtney PowellCEOReal HQ
Mike RollinsPresidentAustin Chamber
Joe RossCo-Founder & PresidentCSID
Danielle RoystonCEO Versata
Jan RyanFounder Social Dynamx & Women@Austin
Fred SchmidtCo-Founder & CEOWild About Music, Toy Joy & Austin Rocks Texas
Eugene SepulvedaCEOEntrepreneur’s Foundation of Central Texas
Venu ShamapantGeneral PartnerLive Oak Venture Partners
Amos SchwartzfarbManaging DirectorTechstars Austin
Justin SiegelFounder & CEOATX Angel
Chris SkylesFounderSkylesBayne
joahspearmanCo-Founder & CEOLocaleur
Sean SpectorFounder & CEODropoff
Krishna SrinivasanGeneral PartnerLive Oak Venture Partners
Chris TaylorFounder & CEOSquare Root
Rob TaylorCEOConvey
Charles ThornburghFounder & CEOCivitas Learning
Kenny TomlinFounder & CEORockfish Interactive
Michael TraftonDirectorCapital Factory
Andy TrybaCEOCrossover
Tyson TuttleCEOSilicon Labs
Dustin WellsFounder & CEOHeadspring
Spencer WellsFounder & CEOInsitome