Uber and Lyft are coming back to Austin

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Rachel Kaser

Internet Culture Writer

Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback (show all) Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding. Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.

Uber and Lyft are returning to Austin after leaving one year ago, thanks to some new state legislation.

Lyft spokeswoman confirms the company will also be resuming services in Austin on Monday. #txlege https://t.co/rzSi02u7kR

— Alexandra Samuels (@AlexSamuelsx5) May 25, 2017

Alexandra Samuels of the Texas Tribune said spokespeople from both companies confirmed their apps would be in Austin again by next week. Uber told her, “Our local team is focused on making sure that Uber works for Austinites and helping our driver-partners earn.”

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Uber and Lyft left Austin after the city voted against a law which would allow the ridesharing apps to use their own background checks. Recently Texas passed a state-wide bill establishing regulations for ride-hailing companies, overriding local regulations such as Austin’s.

Both apps are returning to a city which seems, as we saw at SXSW, to be getting by without them. Time will show if local startups like RideAustin can compete with the big boys.