Local Repubs start off SXSW with call to save Uber and Lyft

A recently approved resolution could not have come at a better time.

Pre-SXSW festivities are beginning to fill Austin Bergstrom International Airport with demand for transportation options from travelers expecting on arrival to find a tech hub and entrepreneur paradise but only to discover there is no Uber or Lyft service. Worse, the city is competing with the free market by sponsoring and even subsidizing risky ridesharing ventures to fill the gap left by the unfortunate decision to run Lyft and Uber out of town.

Fortunately, Austin has a Capitol with a Legislature in session. From the Travis County GOP blog:

AUSTIN --The Travis County GOP is calling for the Texas Legislature to step in and put the brakes on a dangerous trajectory set by Austin city leaders. 

Those attending the annual SXSW festival this year may find themselves shocked and seriously disadvantaged to find that the tech-hub and Live Music Capital that is our fair city does not have in operation the two major ridesharing companies in America. 

Austin voters were hoodwinked into [effectively] voting for a set of stringent regulations on companies such as Uber and Lyft last year, causing the two Transportation Networking Company (TNC) giants to leave town. This is why the Travis County GOP requested the Texas Legislature approve Senate Bills 176 and 113 to standardize TNC regulations all across Texas so companies that operate in various locations will know what to expect and how to efficiently operate their enterprises without navigating different sets of regulations from city to city. 

The text of the resolution, passed overwhelmingly on Feb. 21 by the Travis GOP Executive Committee, is as follows: 

WHEREAS, the Republican Platform is about Preserving American Freedoms, limiting the Expanse of government power, promoting individual freedom and strengthening the economy. 

WHEREAS, The State Legislature should step in to eliminate attempts by local governments to control our individual freedoms and economic liberties. 

Be it resolved, that the Travis County Republican Party is in support of SB 176, regulating Transportation Network Companies at the State level and SB113, removing local city regulation from certain for-hire passenger transportation. 

The Travis County GOP works to elect more Republicans and is the official presence of the Republican Party for the greater Austin metropolitan area in Travis County. 

For more information contact communications@travisgop.com or (512)302-1776.

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Amen.


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Update: (3/9/17) minor edits.