Austin City Council members and city residents say they hope the Council’s
recent decision to temporarily allow rideshare services will provide an
alternative to the limited transportation options available in the city.
Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft use GPS on users’ cell phones to
connect independent drivers with people searching for a ride. Citizens say the
conveniences of using an app to locate their position and the increase of
transportation options could help reduce the number of DUI’s in Austin.
According to statistics provided by the Texas Department of
Transportation, driving under the influence accounted for 27 fatalities in
Austin in 2013, an increase of 23 percent from 2012.
Research conducted in Seattle by Uber, the largest rideshare company in
the country according to a recent study by FutureAdvisor, estimates their
service to have decreased the number of DUI arrests by 10 percent.
Leah Bojo, policy director for Austin City Council member Chris Riley,
said that rideshare services are important during late-night hours, when taxi
and city transportation methods do not operate as frequently as they do
throughout the day.
“The advantage of allowing Uber and Lyft
to operate in Austin is that they provide another transportation option,” Bojo
said. “Transportation choices are important in helping everyone get around.
Austin isn’t currently providing many transportation choices late at night and
at peak times. We have limited bus routes at night and it can take a very long
time to get a cab. Uber and Lyft could help fill those gaps.”
TxDOT statistics show that in 2013 the majority of DUI accidents in
Texas occurred between the hours of 2 and 3 a.m.
Melissa Ayala, spokeswoman for Capital Metro, said that while late night
bus routes are in place, Capital Metro cannot further expand that particular
service.
“Over the years we have consistently added late-night services,” Ayala
said. “We are not looking to expand the services because of budgetary
restrictions, but the services that we have are readily used every weekend.”
Andy Moore, the chief of staff for Austin City Council member Mike
Martinez, said that taxi drivers’ unwillingness to operate late-night is the
reason that Transportation Network Companies could be important for the city.
“The number of taxi permits that the city issues is about seven hundred
and fifty,” Moore said. “The city tracks the permits and when they are actually
out on the road, during peak times like at night when people are leaving our
entertainment districts or other weekends after football games, the majority of
those permits are not actively on the road. The taxi drivers are choosing to
not be on the road during times of need.”
Moore said the taxi companies claim that their drivers do not like the
added hassle when working at late-night peak hours.
“They do not like to deal with drunken people, they do not like the
potential for people throwing up in their vehicles, or taking off running,”
Moore said. “There are a myriad of issues that are associated with nighttime
passengers, and some of them just like to have a more normal work schedule.”
Jennifer Houlihan, executive director of Austin Music
People, an advocacy group for musicians and their fans, said that she is concerned
with Austin’s public safety and believes rideshare services could reduce the number of road accidents.
“We want people to travel to Austin and have a great time and then get
back home or back to their hotel safely,” Houlihan said. “Obviously, DWI’s are
important to all of us in Austin, a public safety issue that deserves all of
our attention. So what we would like to see are more options for people who are
travelling late at night.”
Rideshare companies have faced backlash from around the world. Germany
has outlawed their use and local officials in Austin say that their lack of
regulation could be a safety concern.
Scott Henson, creator and author of Austin based “Grits for Breakfast”
blog, said that the city has failed to invest in public transportation and that
taxi regulations are for protecting a local oligopoly.
“I'm personally more worried about reducing DWI deaths
than preserving the monopoly stranglehold on the local market by two cab
companies which are inconvenient, unreliable and field too few cabs to service
the city,” Henson said in an email.
The Austin City Council will meet on October 16 to vote on permanently legalizing
Transportation Network Companies.
Phillip Tracy
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