Lyft is back and Uber has announced it is coming back according to this message posted on Facebook
Ride-hailing car services Lyft and Uber are coming back to Corpus Christi. Lyft has already begun operations in the city after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 100 on Memorial Day, the last day of the 85th legislative session. The bill does away with local fingerprinting requirements for drivers but imposes an annual $5,000 fee to operate in the state. The fee buys a permit from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which is now a requirement in Texas.
According to a Facebook post by council member Ben Molina, who reached out to Uber in a letter asking the company to return, Uber will be back soon.
“I have spoken with Chris Miller, their public policy manager,” Molina wrote in his post. “Uber will return to Corpus Christi this summer! They are working on a plan to relaunch their services in Texas, and Corpus Christi is high on their list.”
Both Uber and Lyft left Corpus Christi after the City Council approved an ordinance in March 2016 requiring fingerprint background checks for drivers. Two new companies have since filled the gaps.
GetMe, a startup from Dallas, and Tride of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also began operating in Austin when Uber and Lyft pulled out after voters turned down a proposition that would allow transportation network companies, known as TNCs, to operate without subjecting drivers to a city-operated fingerprint background check.
The vote in Corpus Christi came from City Hall and was divisive. After the March vote, the ordinance was never published and therefore did not go into effect. The council returned to the decision in May with two TNC proposals on the agenda for consideration.
The first ordinance discussed was from a residents’ group supporting Uber’s and Lyft’s positions. After a heated discussion, that measure failed 5-4 with council members Lucy Rubio, Brian Rosas, Rudy Garza Jr. and Carolyn Vaughn joining Mayor Nelda Martinez in opposition.
Shortly after that vote, the council moved to approve the fingerprint ordinance, which passed 5-4. The same people voting against the TNC ordinance voted for the fingerprint ordinance.
Only Rubio, Garza and Vaughn remain on the council after last year’s general election in November. Although the ride-hail vote was not the only reason voters turned out several council members and the mayor, it was cited along with the condition of city streets and water quality issues by election watchers.
Newly elected Mayor Joe McComb, who won the seat in a May 2 special election, seemed ambivalent about the issue when talking to reporters. He touched on one bone of contention: the loss of local governments’ rights to regulate businesses.
“I don’t know how much authority [the Legislature] did take away from us,” he said. “I know people of Corpus Christi would like to have that ride-share service back.”
