Ride Share Companies Uber And Lyft Leaving Austin

Voters in Austin turned down a proposal from Uber and Lyft this weekend that called for self regulation of drivers within the city. Instead, Austin officials called for stricter regulations on both companies when it comes to background checks on drivers and emblems on all participating vehicles.  After a $9 million campaign by Uber and Lyft, the vote was 44% in favor of the proposition and 56% against according to Travis County election results.

Uber and Lyft were extremely opposed to the city's safety measures, which included fingerprinting drivers for the ride-sharing companies.

Lyft released a statement Saturday that said the company would stop operating in the Austin by Monday (5/9). Uber said it would stop its operations in the city as of this morning. Austin mayor Steve Adler hopes both companies will come back to the table, but he says the voters clearly want regulations to be handled by the city.