A hard-fought Austin special election over regulations for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft might signal the new normal as the companies aggressively battle to dominate the emerging industry on their own terms.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Transportation
Uber Annouces Plan to Leave Houston if City Keeps Existing Regulations
Uber announced Wednesday the company plans to cease operations in Houston if the city council does not repeal its existing regulations relating to vehicle-for-hire companies.
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Transportation
Company Says it Will Fill Gap if Uber, Lyft Leave Austin After Vote
Uber and Lyft have pledged to leave Austin if the city votes down an ordinance preventing fingerprint-based background checks. But a smaller Austin-based company called getme insists it can fill the gap.
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Transportation
Ahead of Austin Election Over Regulating Uber, Local Leaders Take Sides
With less than a month until Austin voters will be asked to decide how to regulate vehicle-for-hire companies like Uber and Lyft, advocates on both sides are amping up their campaign efforts.
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State Government
Analysis: State Government is Expensive, No Matter How You Pay
Cutting prices can be expensive. The Texas Department of Transportation offered up the most recent example of that, answering the Legislature’s question about the price of making the state’s toll roads free. Spoiler alert: It’s high.
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Transportation
Paying Off Toll Roads Could Top $30 Billion
If Texas decided to pay off construction debt on nearly all of its toll roads tomorrow, the price tag would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 billion, according to a preliminary report.
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Transportation
Font on Texas Highway Signs Set for Another Shift
The Federal Highway Administration is no longer permitting states to use an experimental font called Clearview on highway signs. Texas, one of the typeface’s earliest adopters, has used it on its new highway signs since 2004.
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Transportation
Texas Supreme Court Denies Effort to Rewrite Austin Ballot on Uber Ordinance
The Texas Supreme Court denied a request Monday aiming to rewrite the ballot language for an upcoming referendum that will determine how the city of Austin regulates vehicle-for-hire companies like Uber and Lyft.
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Transportation
Texas Supreme Court Asked to Weigh in on Austin’s Battle with Uber
An Austin resident, supported by Uber, has asked the Texas Supreme Court to weigh in on the ballot language for a measure related to vehicle-for-hire companies scheduled to come before voters on May 7.
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Transportation
Uber to Leave Third Texas City Over Background Check Laws
Corpus Christi will be the third city Uber has left this year in response to local laws. In February, the company ceased operations in Galveston and Midland after the cities voted to enact background-check requirements.