Why did Austin ban Uber?

1. By: Clara Jace

2. HISTORY OF THE SHARING ECONOMY
• “Technology has reduced transaction costs, making sharing
assets cheaper and easier than ever—and therefore possible on
a much larger scale…What’s mine is yours, for a fee.” (“The
Rise of the Sharing Economy,” The Economist)
• Examples:
• Airbnb
• Uber
• Lyft
• DogVaycay
• RelayRides
• TaskRabbit
• Poshmark

3. UBER & AUSTIN: FACTS OF THE CASE
• Uber and Lyft poured $8 mil. into campaign to pass Proposition 1
(i.e. keep fingerprint-based background checks)
• May 2016, Austin voters decided to deny Prop. 1 and retain
regulations
• Opponents: consumer safety, level the playing field, don’t want city to
be “bullied” by businesses
• Uber/Lyft: already have safety procedures, local taxis function like
cartel, safety and potential income of Austinites
"Disappointment does not begin to describe how we feel about shutting
down operations in Austin… We hope the City Council will reconsider their
ordinance so we can work together to make the streets of Austin a safer
place for everyone.”
-- Uber’s Austin general manager to Texas Tribune

4. CONSUMER RESPONSE: THE BLACK MARKET

5. …WHICH BEGS THE QUESTIONS
1. Whose argument do you agree with?
2. How much trust can we place in market actors (both consumers
and suppliers)?
3. How might market competition carry over into regulations?