One hundred and two people died on Austin’s roads in 2015 – the most ever recorded. More than 20 have met a similar fate so far this year. Nearly every death involved a car. Yet, in a city where 93 percent of households own a car, Francis Reilly does not. Reilly works in the city’s […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inTransportation
If Uber and Lyft leave, could others step up?
Unbeknownst to some, the city of Austin has licensed five ride-hailing companies for operation. In case you haven’t opened your mailbox or clicked on your TV recently, two of those companies — Uber and Lyft — are currently embroiled in a public vote over what regulations the companies should be subject to. “We can all […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin’s Vision Zero plan begins final march to Council
The city of Austin’s Vision Zero plan continued its final parade through boards and commissions Monday with a visit to the Public Safety Commission. And while some commissioners were dissatisfied with the 94-page document, others had little to say. “About the only thing I can say is the pictures are pretty,” said Commissioner Mike Levy […]
Posted inTransportation
Are Lyft’s free rides to the polls legal?
When she’s not driving for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, Sara Kaminsky works as a personal trainer. In fact, I exited her Toyota Corolla with a brochure for Shakeology, a weight loss program that helped Kaminsky shed more than 100 pounds over two years. I confessed that I needed to get in shape. “I could […]
Posted inBudget
Council kicks off budget season
At its budget season opener on Wednesday, City Council heard again of Austin’s two cities: one that suffers from widening economic divisions and another that is “an economic star.” “This is extraordinary growth,” economic consultant Jon Hockenyos told Council members as he highlighted a 4.6 percent increase in jobs last year, plus an anticipated 7 […]
Posted inTransportation
The tricky art of linking Uber and Lyft to DWI drop
In both sides of the tug of war over what rules should govern ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft in Austin, everyone seems to agree that having more transportation options is a potential antidote for DWIs. “We are safer in this community if we have ride-share companies operating at scale,” Mayor Steve Adler told the Austin […]
Posted inFire
Austin Fire Department could soon be using drones
The drone idles on a small runway at the Austin Radio Control Association, just east of the city. It has a gray body and a white nose, across which someone has painted a sinister smile. The controls are tested, and then the small aircraft takes off. “They’re going through with their first search,” says Sterling […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ride-hailing meets truth-hailing at Prop 1 presser
City Council members may have been overly optimistic that a 9-year-old’s karaoke machine could carry their comments to reporters. Nonetheless, they pushed on. Armed both with a “singing machine” borrowed from Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo’s daughter and with printed versions of the two currently competing ride-hailing ordinances, five Council members gathered outside City Hall […]
Posted inTransportation
Current city law not followed by Uber and Lyft drivers
Eduardo Gutierrez picked me up in his Ford Crown Victoria. I knew the make of his car and his license plate, plus I had an idea of what he looked like. But no sticker or emblem on Gutierrez’s car alerted me to the fact that he is an Uber driver. In this respect, according to […]
Posted inAustin
City takes a look at Expo Center plans
Amid talk of the potential pluses of an expanded Austin Convention Center, some City Council members Monday heard for the first time publicly about a recent consultant review of the Travis County Exposition Center. Brian Block, the development administrator for the Parks and Recreation Department, summed up the consultants’ findings, starting with a count of […]
Posted inCity Hall
Code Department slammed (again) in city audit
The department charged with policing overgrown grass, short-term rentals and illegally discarded junk fails to follow a consistent protocol for overseeing violations and does not enforce violations with equal fervor on city-owned property, reads a report from the Office of the City Auditor. In a review of 306 code complaints, the auditor took issue with […]
Posted inTransportation
Cab driver background checks go national
For once, rules batted around on the dais did not concern Uber and Lyft drivers. City Council members Thursday approved nationwide criminal background checks for would-be chauffeur permit holders – those authorized to drive taxicabs, pedicabs, limos or city charter buses. It’s another step in what has been a lengthy attempt to align the regulations […]