Tag Archives: Uber

Lyft to leave November 20

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So long. Lyft plans to suspend its Houston operations on Nov. 20, according to a letter sent to Houston Lyft users. The San Francisco-based ride-sharing service is upset over the new regulations approved by the Houston City Council in August. … Continue reading →

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Lyft leaving?

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry it’s not working out for you. Best of luck in your future endeavors. Less than a week before new city regulations take effect, one of two app-based, paid-ride companies is preparing to end its local business rather than use … Continue reading →

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Reminder: Uber and Lyft aren’t legal yet in Houston

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Drive for ’em at your own risk for the next month or so. New entrants into Houston’s paid-ride market can’t be licensed to operate for another month, but the transition is proving problematic as the companies and drivers rack up … Continue reading →

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Austin gives early approval to Uber and Lyft

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s temporary pending a second Council vote and further study. After nearly four hours of testimony and debate, council members gave initial approval shortly after midnight to new rules that would temporarily legalize ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, … Continue reading →

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UberASSIST and UberACCESS

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As I’m sure you recall, access for the disabled was a major point of debate in the vehicles for hire saga. There was a lawsuit filed by a coalition of Texas disability advocates against Uber and Lyft over their lack … Continue reading →

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AirBnB in Houston

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

When people talk about “the sharing economy” for good or ill, the main players that get named tend to be Uber, Lyft, and AirBnB. We’ve heard a lot about the first two in Houston lately, but prior to this Chron … Continue reading →

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The limits of lobbying

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They do exist, as Houston’s cab companies recently discovered. More than a year of intense lobbying by established cab companies and tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to City Council members were not enough to hold off a … Continue reading →

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Some Republicans really want to make Uber a partisan thing

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A little adorable, and a little desperate. Uber hired political strategist David Plouffe this week to run what amounts to a national political campaign against the taxi industry. Ostensibly, this is a fight between large taxi medallion investors and a … Continue reading →

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San Antonio will take its time on Uber and Lyft

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As was the case in Houston, San Antonio City Council is in no rush to take action on updating their vehicles for hire ordinances to deal with Uber and Lyft. After an emotional and colorful Citizens to be Heard session, … Continue reading →

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Uber and Lyft go prank calling each other

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I find this pretty funny, in a juvenile-delinquent sort of way. Uber employees have ordered and canceled more than 5,000 rides from rival Lyft since last October, according to new data provided by Lyft. The data was obtained at CNNMoney’s … Continue reading →

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Council approves vehicles for hire overhaul

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

At long last. Technology companies that have unapologetically disrupted vehicle-for-hire markets in cities across the country will be able to operate legally in Houston after City Council on Wednesday ended 16 months of wrangling by approving new rules. Council voted … Continue reading →

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One more week till vehicles for hire

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You didn’t expect Council to vote on it so quickly, did you? They’ll get to it next week. The proposed changes would place specific requirements on the independent drivers and the technology companies, which connect drivers willing to ferry people … Continue reading →

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Checking in on Uber and Lyft in San Antonio

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

San Antonio City Council will soon be taking up with vehicles for hire issue, and so far things have gone about as smoothly as you’d expect. A proposal from City staff to integrate rideshare companies into the existing Vehicle for … Continue reading →

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Will we finally get a vote on vehicles for hire this week?

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Remember last month when Council was supposed to vote on a vehicles for hire ordinance change to allow Uber and Lyft to operate here in some fashion? It was put off till July 30 to allow for some form of … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit against Uber and Lyft

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s three lawsuits that I know of. A coalition of Texas disability advocates sued ride-share companies Uber and Lyft on Thursday as part of dozens of lawsuits filed around the state ahead of the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities … Continue reading →

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Three Uber stories

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still waiting for Council to take action on vehicles for hire, so here’s some more reading on the subject to keep you up to date on what’s happening elsewhere. Wonkblog: Are Uber and Lyft responsible for reducing DUIs? Wonkblog: … Continue reading →

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More on the partisan lines of the Uber fight

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Wonkblog, another interesting look at how the fight over the so-called “sharing economy”, in particular transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft, is playing out nationally. In its short life, however, the sharing economy has seldom reflected a clear … Continue reading →

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Uber is working hard to make itself unlikeable

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s almost as if it’s a deliberate part of their business plan. “We’re in a political campaign, and the candidate is Uber, and the opponent is an asshole named Taxi,” Travis Kalanick, the CEO of ride-sharing company Uber, said while … Continue reading →

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Another taxi survey

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Vehicle for hire industry survey The City of Houston has retained Taxi Research Partners to conduct a study of demand within the vehicle for hire industry in Houston. The study will review current market conditions, identify key … Continue reading →

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Vehicles for hire vote put off till end of July

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? The Houston City Council delayed a vote until July 30 on regulations for the vehicles-for-hire industry, keeping Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.’s legal status in Houston in limbo. Council member Mike Laster proposed an initial delay of 60 … Continue reading →

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Here comes the Uber and Lyft vote

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Barring anything unexpected, today is the day that Houston City Council settles – for now, anyway – the Uber/Lyft issue. Houston is not the only place where transportation network companies are seeking to do business in Texas, of course. The … Continue reading →

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Vehicle for hire vote tagged

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here. I had thought the ordinance was still in committee, but it went before the full Council yesterday. It was of course tagged – we weren’t going to have this vote only one week after the HERO vote, … Continue reading →

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And we circle back to Uber and Lyft

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Took longer than we thought it would, but on we move to the next contentious debate. Companies that connect riders with drivers via smartphone and tablet applications could operate legally in Houston, subject to certain conditions, under a proposal to … Continue reading →

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Harris County tries to get smarter about drunk driving

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That seems to be the thrust of this story. Convicted drunken drivers soon could face tougher scrutiny through a series of reforms designed to reduce the rate of drunken driving fatalities in Harris County, among the highest in the nation. … Continue reading →

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The Uber/Lyft debate comes to Austin

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready, y’all. The discussion around Austin’s public transportation debate has been at times both fevered and nuanced, driven in large part by social media. There have been discussions about lightrail, late-night bus service, parking ticket waivers, taxi driver accountability … Continue reading →

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San Antonio City Council has its first hearing on Uber and Lyft

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds pretty familiar. Chief William McManus said Wednesday that the Police Department might impound vehicles belonging to Lyft and Uber drivers if they continue to violate the city’s regulations for vehicles for hire, such as taxis and limos. The city … Continue reading →

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Costello comes out for Uber and Lyft

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

An email sent out by CM Stephen Costello: Over the past few months, City Council has been discussing proposed changes to Chapter 46, the city ordinance dealing with vehicles for hire. I’ve listened during committee meetings and public sessions. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Uber’s “safe rides fee”

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Wonkblog on Friday: Uber is rolling out a $1 surcharge today on all rides offered through its less expensive car-for-hire service UberX. This isn’t the company’s black town car operation, but the down-market version that enables anyone with a spare … Continue reading →

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Dallas and Seattle redoing vehicle for hire ordinances

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said before that the review of Houston’s vehicle for hire codes will be a process and not a one-time deal, and that we ought to be prepared to review what we do now in another six or twelve months … Continue reading →

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Your daily Uber/Lyft update

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Tuesday Council committee hearing at which the draft ordinance was reviewed. Despite having a newly-released draft ordinance in hand, City Council members spent a Tuesday committee hearing asking many of the same questions about regulating ride-sharing services as … Continue reading →

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Draft ordinance on vehicles for hire is out

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker puts another item on City Council’s to do list. A proposed Houston ordinance could legalize hundreds of for-hire drivers providing rides through smartphone applications, but would require those drivers meet the same permitting and safety requirements as taxicab … Continue reading →

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No restraining order against Uber and Lyft

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The ridesharing services in Houston and San Antonio can continue to operate, at least for now. A federal judge Monday declined to issue a temporary restraining order sought by Houston and San Antonio cab companies hoping to block ride-sharing services … Continue reading →

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Uber uber alles

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Uber rolled out a new service in Manhattan [last] Tuesday that foreshadows the five-year-old company’s plans to become much more than a platform for e-hailing taxi and town car rides. Now, with UberRUSH, the company is piloting a … Continue reading →

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Uber goes rogue

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is me shaking my head. At least one ride-sharing company has decided to openly defy city law that bans its unlicensed drivers from charging for rides. While a few free-ride promotions remain ongoing, Uber spokeswoman Nairi … Continue reading →

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