Austin Police Department Warns SXSW Attendees Not To Use Uber

http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/08/austin-police-sxsw-uber

by trustfundbaby • 12 years ago

103 106 12 years ago

There are actually undercover stings going on too, by the looks of things http://www.reddit.com/r/SXSW/comments/1zwr26/atx_welcome_to_...

rocky1138• 12 years ago

$55 minimum? This is a great way to increase the amount of drunk drivers on the road. Way to go, Austin!

cmelbye• 12 years ago

Surge pricing isn't going to look pretty either.

sfall• 12 years ago

i think thats for the uberBlack

dylz• 12 years ago

No, that's for anything. Any non-Austin-sanctioned service must charge at least $55 for any ride, regardless of even if it travels one block. This is an explicit move to make people not want to use startups like Uber.

cowsandmilk• 12 years ago

You can still get a cab starting for $2.40/mile. There is a distinct difference between a "vehicle for hire" and a cab.

moonka• 12 years ago

If you can find one. If you aren't on the main drag, good luck. We called twice and waited for cabs which never showed up, and finally called a friend of my sister to pick us up. We would have been much happier taking an uber instead of waking up a friend if we could have.

SilasX• 12 years ago

Indeed: the power of their lobbyists.

tlrobinson• 12 years ago

Good luck getting a cab (depending on the time and location; I waited 2.5 hours the other night to get one from the Bitcoin conference, no joke)

InclinedPlane• 12 years ago

There used to be. Now that everyone carries smartphones that difference isn't relevant.

wdr1• 12 years ago

That doesn't really explain why there should be a $55 minimum.

joesmo5• 12 years ago

Seriously. This is just unconscionable on behalf of the Austin police, especially considering that drinking seems to be _the_ pastime in Austin. I suppose people have to die first, as always, before things get better.

mqatrombone• 12 years ago

Last I checked, police don't write the law. Blame either the politician or the bureaucrat.

mbesto• 12 years ago

To be fair, that's something SXSW should subsidize.

BadassFractal• 12 years ago

Gotta love a free market.

greatsuccess• 12 years ago

Actually these are just regs on the driver, as a citizen I can get into any fucking car I want on any fucking terms I want and the police have nothing to say about it.

thenmar• 12 years ago

Take that, tax-and-spend liberals!

ivanca• 12 years ago

Most of the taxes go for weapons/military, so you could say that you're technically reducing wars by avoiding taxes.

Or better yet, there should be a tax for stupidity in congress, that alone would set the USA economy back on track.

devindotcom• 12 years ago

Well it would be good if the law was such that the police could encourage it, but since it isn't, why would we expect them to?

If the law says these vehicles are operating illegally, the police are pretty much bound to discommend them. We always knew Uber existed in a highly regulated space, and changing the law or how it's interpreted will always take time.

I'm also pretty sure that if the Ubers and other ride services are not in fact operating under the law, your protections as a citizen and consumer are limited. The police would want people to choose services where they have the most lawful protection.

viraptor• 12 years ago

There's a difference though between them just putting a fine on Uber cab someone reported or they ran across by accident, and them actively announcing the disagreement and targeting the business. I'm sure there are many other more interesting things they could spend their time on.

Does the police force care about Uber enough to do this? (on their own) I don't think so. I'd rather ask who cares and has so much influence on them.

wavefunction3• 12 years ago

Welcome to APD. Just be glad you're not a young black male (if you are, mind your Ps and Qs).

migrantgeek• 12 years ago

My guess is that they were being asked by bloggers, journalists, etc who were coming in for SXSW and thought it would be easier to put out an online statement to direct people to.

I don't think this is a high priority for APD.

I don't see the big deal really. I've lived in Austin since 2005 and I've never used a cab service here. They seem pretty useless in this city IMO.

I should also mention that I'm not a fan of Uber. I've been with friends and coworkers using it in San Francisco and always I see 3-4 available yellow cabs go by while we wait for our driver.

I'm in San Fran 1 week a month and when I'm by myself, I just take yellow cabs. They seem to work OK for me.

lolo_3• 12 years ago

We (me + colleague) are at SxSW now (over from the UK) - this is quite amazing given the utter lack of cabs if you're anywhere resembling out-of-downtown. Thankfully we have through an amazing friend of a friend procured the services of a friendly cab driver who goes out of his way to help us, without which we'd basically have to stay at our residence the whole time and not do SxSW at all.

Yikes.

rorlin• 12 years ago

It's always funny how people come in from all over for SXSW and assume Austin will be some bustling metropolis with big-city amenities. Did you not notice "downtown" includes only a few square blocks?

wavefunction3• 12 years ago

The unofficial city bird is the (construction) Crane, define few?

Generally that means 2-3. Is there such a thing as hypobole?

lolo_3• 12 years ago

I don't think being able to catch a cab, at all, is a 'big-city amenity'.

Also keep in mind Austin is one of the biggest growing cities in the entire US.

etc. I could keep on arguing the point, but I nuked my previous account on here because of petty negativity like this, so I'd rather not.

Thankfully everybody I've met in person here has been incredibly friendly and hospitable which has left a big impression on me about Austin and the US in general. I will take that as my example, not this mean-spirited comment.

mikeash2• 12 years ago

Yes, who would think that the eleventh-largest city in the US would have taxis.

stevewilhelm• 12 years ago

When SxSW isn't in town, Austin couldn't support a taxi service. Most of the locals own cars.

rjf90• 12 years ago

Yet another example of society acclimating to disruptive technology.

javajosh• 12 years ago

You'd think they'd do anything they could to avoid drunk driving. I hope that if anyone gets hurt or killed during SXSW by a drunk driver the victim sues the hell out of the APD for making it more likely there will be drunk drivers on the road.

exelius2• 12 years ago

The lack of cabs in Austin is a normal situation; they just don't exist. There are something like 250 licensed taxis in the city. You really can't hail them down like in other cities either; most drivers have scheduled pickups for most of the night.

You really need either a car or a shuttle bus for SXSW. It's just how it is in the US outside the northeast, Chicago or San Francisco.

Also, even though the "minimum price" is $55, Uber's "surge pricing" is requiring a $125 minimum fare.

seanmcdirmid2• 12 years ago

They hang out at the airport and you can order one for a morning pickup. Austin isn't that bad, its just not geared to locals or bar hoppers (but Austin is quite walkable).

sehugg• 12 years ago

I dunno, I've been on a (authorized) shuttle at SXSW driven by a meth-head whereupon at the end of the trip everyone was sheet-white and couldn't say a word. Could Uber be worse?

tptacek10• 12 years ago

No, most probably not. But the public policy for Austin must consider not just Uber, but any other company who would take advantage of the flex that would enable Uber to profitably operate there. It's Uber and Lyft now, but it's shady companies by the 10s and 20s afterwards.

I like Uber a lot, and hope it survives in Chicago, but I understand why the issue is tricky.

tsotha2• 12 years ago

It's not about safety. It's about money.

DanBC2• 12 years ago

Did anyone take the driver's information and report him? (Or her?)

This is one of the supposed advantages of the regulated systems - people report dangerous drivers who then lose their ability to be drivers.

diakritikal• 12 years ago

"Someone should tell the folks at the police department before they start fining Uber drivers or scaring attendees away from using the service."

I live in the central belt of Scotland, if a taxi here in Glasgow or Edinburgh cost a minimum of $55 there would be a civil insurrection. I'm frankly amazed that the crux of this story is having a go at the cops and not anyone who thinks $55 minimum for a taxi is OK.

kevcampb• 12 years ago

$55 isn't the minimum cost for a taxi, it's for pre booked private hire

tptacek10• 12 years ago

For what it's worth, if you didn't already know: Uber doesn't serve Austin, or didn't just a few months ago when I was out there last. It's not like Austin is pulling the rug out from under Uber. It's kind of irritating to me that Uber would pretend to serve Austin during SXSW. If you're going to serve a municipality, put your chips on the table and slug it out for real.

nRike• 12 years ago

I'm at SXSW and realized they're only serving trips when you're in downtown, so yes, Uber already works here now.

tptacek10• 12 years ago

IIRC Uber did SXSW for '13 too, but they didn't stick around; Uber had no Austin service at all back in November.

keyhole_downs• 12 years ago

I heard Michael buble will do a private concert for you if you hire an Uber driver. But I mc don't know if that's true or not.

natrius2• 12 years ago

It is illegal for Uber to operate in Austin the way they do in other cities. During SXSW, Uber offers free UberX (since it's illegal to charge, but giving free rides is legit) and paid Uber Black, which probably falls under normal limo rules.

Uber isn't doing anything wrong here. Austin's politicians are, because their campaign funds come from the taxi lobby.

tptacek10• 12 years ago

They don't offer Uber Black outside SXSW either. They seem to be in Austin because they want the attention of tourists, not because they want to go to bat for the people of Austin. Correction welcome.

gojomo• 12 years ago

When will APD do something about those slow, dangerous, absurd pedicabs?

tsotha2• 12 years ago

"Permitted transportation services" has kind of a Soviet ring to it.

Jugurtha• 12 years ago

Well, people aren't 6 year olds and the Police isn't their parents. The Police saying something doesn't mean their words shouldn't be let to be gone with the wind, whose direction is, well, south by south west.

In case you're wondering, what I said above is a tactful way to say "Fuck off".

jessaustin• 12 years ago

So, umm, bring a bicycle? Maybe there are some for rent? Austin isn't particularly hilly, is it?

shiftpgdn2• 12 years ago

Austin is incredibly hilly.

Jgrubb• 12 years ago

In the "hill country", no less.

driverdan3• 12 years ago

No it isn't. SF is incredibly hilly. Austin has a few hills and not many downtown.

driverdan3• 12 years ago

I'm the cofounder of Spokefly[1]. We have plenty of bicycles available for SXSW attendees. However it has been rainy and cold so there are good reasons to want to use a cab.

1: https://www.spokefly.com

driverdan3• 12 years ago

I live in Austin. The cab situation here is terrible. There aren't enough cabs when it's busy, drivers often violate the law by refusing credit cards or denying rides. Last night I was downtown (during SXSW) and tried to get a cab for 45 min. The first one that stopped tried scamming me by telling me it would be $20. I told him no way and he drove off. The second one asked where I was going and acted like he didn't know where it was (very common numbered street any idiot would know about) and told me he didn't want to go there. Both violated their licenses.

The whole time I was also trying to get Uber X. Eventually I got an Uber car. It was worth the wait to not have to ride with one of those asshole cabbies. We really need to change the laws here and crack down on these cabs.

Austin Police Department Warns SXSW Attendees Not To Use Uber

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