by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 05/17/2017 at 18:40
by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 05/17/2017 at 18:40
Tags: ride sharing
; uber
; lyft
STARS: 0
Very soon, you’ll be able to ride with them again. Today, the Texas State Senate voted to implement regulations for ridesharing across the state, superseding any ordinances put in place by municipalities. While the bill does mandate annual background checks for drivers, it removes the requirement for the fingerprinting of drivers, which the city of Austin imposed last year, leading both companies to suspend service. With a 21-9 vote for passage, the law will become effective as soon as the governor signs it, and Uber said they will resume service immediately.
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"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
05/17/2017 at 18:48, STARS: 2
I’ll bring the popcorn, bloggers and commenters will bring the salt.
"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
05/17/2017 at 18:51, STARS: 0
So much for Texas conservatives and calls for “small government”. If Austin voted for a specific set of rules within their city who is the state to tell them to do something else?
This is similar to the NC crap about state minimum wages and cities within the state not being allowed to institute a minimum wage higher than what the state determines it should be.
Totally makes sense.
"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
05/17/2017 at 18:52, STARS: 0
IIRC Austin area bloggers were more frustrated by the constant spamming UberLift did when the municipal bill was being considered than anything else.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
05/17/2017 at 18:56, STARS: 1
Yup. Austin instituted a plastic bag ban some years ago, and the state government tried to axe it. They were unsuccessful. State legislators believe in small government only when it suits them.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
05/17/2017 at 19:12, STARS: 2
I don’t think they really believe in small government. They do believe in free market capitalism and will usually move to unchain business from restrictions whenever possible. I don’t believe there are many truly small government people left in the Republican party, and the ones that are rarely get what they want.
Interestingly enough, Dallas instituted a plastic bag ban a while back. The State didn’t try to reverse it to my knowledge. The City council reversed itself, though a short while later. We kept the reusable bags we bought though. We find them better and easier to use. I miss paper bags.
"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
05/17/2017 at 19:32, STARS: 1
But that is again putting big business ahead of what the people decide is best for them. This isn’t some civil rights or greater public safety issue that the state is coming down on cities for. It is something the people of a city decided they wanted stronger oversight over. Uber and Lyft could’ve easily complied but they just didn’t want to. Other competitors have stepped up to fill the void in the meantime (I don’t live there so have no idea how well that has actually worked out). The state isn’t giving the people back some inalienable right that they were denied here – instead they’re giving big business an upper hand to keep undercutting competition and maximize their profits (and we know damn well how hard Uber & co love lobbying politicians to get their way).
It’s fine for a state to issue a set of minimum guidelines and then allow municipalities to create rules that work for them within that framework. But here the state is essentially shutting the cities up by forcing them to play by the state’s rules.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
05/17/2017 at 20:04, STARS: 1
Sure. I don’t disagree with you. I think the State is thinking that they are keeping local municipalities from imposing varying restrictions or conditions on a statewide business that has to then cope with all of them and impede business, and are moving to eliminate that. They are using a regulation to deregulate. How’s that for a convoluted sentence?
Personally, I don’t understand the problem with fingerprints in your background check. I had it done once, and it was no big deal. I have no idea if it imposes any real extra expense on a company to do it over the checks they already are required to do, or if it’s just reflexive resistance to regulation. But, that seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face when you leave a market because of it.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
05/17/2017 at 22:03, STARS: 0
Bloggers having to avoid spam oh noes
"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
05/17/2017 at 22:08, STARS: 0
I meant both virtual and physical. There was so much junk mail being sent out that for a lot of people with little apartment mailboxes there was no room for actual mail.