Tag Archives: Austin

An outside view on Uber in Houston

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman looks at how Austin’s fight with Uber and Lyft over fingerprint requirements compares with other cities in Texas, including Houston. Officials in Houston said they decided early on that their city, despite having almost 2,500 licensed taxis, could … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail: Not dead yet

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a flesh wound, actually. The decision by Union Pacific to end its working relationship with Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) in February, was a blow in efforts to develop a passenger rail line between San Antonio and Austin. But … Continue reading →

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Lots of money being spent on the Austin Uber/Lyft ordinance referendum

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. David Butts, meet Goliath. Campaign finance reports filed Thursday for Austin’s ride-hailing services election show a beyond-massive lead in money for Ridesharing Works for Austin, the Uber- and Lyft-backed political action committee supporting a proposed ordinance that would become … Continue reading →

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Recycling officially re-upped

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That new recycling agreement with Waste Management was on Council’s agenda yesterday. Here’s a reminder of what it was about. Originally, Houston was to ink a four-year deal with Waste Management, paying a $95-per-ton processing fee, a nearly 50 percent … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court declines to intervene in Austin Uber referendum

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Who knew they could do that? The Texas Supreme Court on Monday declined to order the Austin City Council to rewrite the ballot language on the proposed ride-hailing ordinance that will go before voters May 7. Austin music manager Samantha … Continue reading →

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Uber to abandon Corpus Christi

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another one bites the dust. In what has become a familiar move for Uber, the vehicle-for-hire company announced Wednesday it will cease operations in Corpus Christi, pointing to “unnecessary” regulations recently adopted by the city. Corpus Christi’s City Council approved … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court asked to weigh in on Austin rideshare referendum

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course it is. The Texas Supreme Court has been pulled into the ongoing battle between Uber and the City of Austin. An Austin resident, supported by Uber, has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the ballot language … Continue reading →

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Our long national breakfast taco nightmare is finally over

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, peace in our time. With an escalating culinary battle threatening to destabilize the region, the mayors of Austin and San Antonio met Thursday morning to announce a taco truce. “As St. Paul admonishes us, let us not be … Continue reading →

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Freedom From Religion Foundation sues Abbott over Bill of Rights display

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From their press release: The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit today against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over his removal of the group’s Bill of Rights display from the Capitol. Abbott downed FFRF’s solstice display, intended to counter … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail setback

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Union Pacific dealt a major blow to a proposal to connect San Antonio and Austin with passenger rail by pulling one of its tracks from a possible plan. UP ended its agreement with the Lone Star Rail District to … Continue reading →

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Austin will vote on rideshare ordinance revision

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The month of May just got a lot more interesting. Let the people choose how to regulate Uber and Lyft, a divided Austin City Council decided late Thursday. The council, on a 2-8-1 vote, declined to adopt an ordinance underlying … Continue reading →

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TOP releases report on inefficiency of development tax subsidies

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: [Thursday], the Texas Organizing Project and the Workers Defense Project released a report on the ineffectiveness of tax subsidies in cities across Texas, and proposed ways to increase requirements for such deals in Houston to offer benefits … Continue reading →

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Another look at AirBnB

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. The hotel industry is starting to object. On Wednesday, a report funded by a national trade group claimed some Airbnb hosts function illegally and operate essentially as full-time hotels without the same health and safety oversight. It also says … Continue reading →

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Two more places that Uber won’t operate

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Goodbye, Galveston. Just days after the City Council passed an ordinance designed to regulate transportation networks, Uber has shut down its service in Galveston. Monday evening, people in Galveston who tried to use the phone app to order a ride … Continue reading →

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Maybe the state should regulate Uber and Lyft after all

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly reviews the current state of affairs with transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft and their fight against mandatory fingerprinting as part of the background checks that new drivers must ondergo, all of which is playing out … Continue reading →

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Petitioners may force vote to change Austin rideshare ordinance

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming there were no shenanigans, this is an impressive show of force. A group looking to overturn an Austin ordinance requiring fingerprinting of ride-hailing drivers said Monday it has gathered more than 65,000 petition signatures, more than three times what … Continue reading →

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Austin versus San Antonio on ridesharing

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Current reviews the state of play. In the spring of 2014, Lyft led the way in Austin, but the company launched without city approval and was eventually banned, along with Uber, which launched in the capital a short time … Continue reading →

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Maybe we just shouldn’t have nativity scenes on government property

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like the obvious answer to me. A “winter solstice” display by the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been ordered removed from the Texas Capitol after Gov. Greg Abbott called it a “juvenile parody.” The display had been approved by … Continue reading →

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Austin passes new vehicles for hire regulations

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll be very interesting to see how this plays out. Defying implied threats that such a vote would chase Uber and Lyft out of town, the Austin City Council late Thursday put into city statutes mandatory fingerprint-based background checks for … Continue reading →

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What people use B-Cycle for

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Rice University: A new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research finds that Sun Belt city residents are most likely to use bike-share programs for recreation, compared with users in the Midwest or Northeast, who regularly use … Continue reading →

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Everybody wants in on the rail action

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We’re like a magical land of opportunity for high-speed rail interests. For more than three years, Japanese-backed Texas Central Partners has drawn attention with its plans to develop a Dallas-Houston bullet train. While that project is furthest along, French and … Continue reading →

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If you really want to improve turnout in city elections

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is a plan that would do it. Councilman Ron Nirenberg [recently] called for a major change to local elections that he says would boost voter turnout and bolster public participation. The councilman said he’s spent years considering ways to … Continue reading →

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Uber returns to San Antonio

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They’re back. The ink had barely dried on the signed operating agreement when ride-hailing firm Uber restarted operations in San Antonio Tuesday, ahead of competitor Lyft, which agreed to a deal in August but has yet to implement services here. … Continue reading →

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Uber and Lyft versus fingerprints

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They prefer to do their own background checks, which of course do not require fingerprint checks. Houston, San Antonio and Austin currently take different approaches to a key regulatory issue: whether vehicle-for-hire app drivers must undergo fingerprint background checks. The … Continue reading →

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Rep. Susan King not running for re-election

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Though she may run for Senate instead. State Rep. Susan King has decided against seeking re-election as she considers a run for the Texas Senate, the Abilene Republican announced Tuesday. King said she would announce by the end of the … Continue reading →

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The local minimum wage fight

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not quite on the radar here, but it could be. After years of failed proposals in the Texas Legislature to raise the minimum wage, organizers and advocates for higher hourly wages are going local. Leaders in two major Texas cities … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail District to ask SA Council for funding

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not so much for now, but over time there will be real money spent. Officials with Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) have asked City Council to allocate up to $500,000 in the city’s 2016 fiscal year budget to help fund … Continue reading →

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Change to term limits will be on the ballot

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Houston voters will decide whether elected city officials should serve two four-year terms rather than three two-year terms starting in 2016, potentially lengthening the terms of some current council members. The City Council voted 12-5 Wednesday to place the … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail faces Council vote in San Antonio

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a big step. While there is little opposition to the idea of a commuter rail line (the LSTAR) between San Antonio and Austin, the City takes serious pause when confronted with the yearly costs of operation and maintenance. But … Continue reading →

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The conservative case for more rail transit

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. As conservatives, we find it odd that many people expect us to oppose public transportation, especially rail. In fact, high-quality transit, which usually means rail, benefits conservatives in a number of important ways. It spurs development, … Continue reading →

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Driverless car testing in Austin

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Be on the lookout. After years of experimenting with its groundbreaking autonomous vehicle technology almost exclusively in California, Google confirmed Monday that it has begun testing one of its self-driving vehicles in Austin. A white Lexus RX 450h SUV outfitted … Continue reading →

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The wedding industry is rubbing its hands with glee

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like having your market dramatically expanded overnight. Within hours after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in Texas and across the country, local wedding businesses and venues already began getting orders and bookings from same-sex couples. Those in the … Continue reading →

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HISD Board President backs changing Confederate school names

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Amid a growing move to shed symbols of the old, slave-owning South, the Houston school board president said Thursday that she supports renaming six campuses named after Confederate loyalists. Rhonda Skillern-Jones said she plans to discuss the … Continue reading →

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Taking decentralization too far

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? The governor and attorney general might have to work in Austin, but under a proposed constitutional amendment, they won’t have to live there. Under the proposed amendment, the century-old requirement that state leaders reside in the capital city would … Continue reading →

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