One other bit of history about this issue in Austin: In 2014 the City Council and the city negotiated an agreement with Uber and Lyft that was voted on and passed 6-1. Since then there have been no issues other than the complaints of the cab companies. Then Austin went through a massive change in government: from 6 at-large elected council members plus one mayor to 10 Council members elected by geographic districts (newly drawn up) + 1 mayor. Only one council member from 2014 remains.

Instead of sticking to the original agreement that was working and forging ahead with critical transportation issues in Austin (public transit, parking, bike lanes, and sidewalks), the new council members put all that on the back burner and have spent the last year re-hashing the whole debate that was supposedly settled by the last council in 2014.

An article came out this weekend in Austin that shows the city only requires taxi background checks in one state, Texas, unless the driver lived somewhere else in the last 3 years in which case that state is also checked. Uber and Lyft look at all 50 states. Also, the city does not restrict convicted murderers or sex offenders from getting a taxi license while Uber and Lyft do:

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/austin-screening-of-taxi-drivers-far-from-airtight/nqPwW/

8 taxi drivers were accused of sexual assault in 2014 in Austin. The data does not show that fingerprinting is effective and in many cases leads to false positives and false negatives. This isn't about a level playing field as that article shows the taxi industry background checks in Austin are much less comprehensive than Uber and Lyft.

"The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. You will grope around in broad daylight, just like a blind person groping in the darkness, and you will not succeed at anything you do. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you. (Deuteronomy 28:20-29 NLT)