Why this Austinite supports recall of City Council’s Kitchen
Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen and her supporters have suggested that only corporate interests support a recall petition. As a resident of her district who fully supports her recall, I want to assure her and her supporters that I am not affiliated with any corporate group.
As a teacher, I had to get fingerprinted. I had to schedule an appointment, which I had to take time off from my summer job to go attend, as well as pay a fee for it, which I believe was about $40. If the process is the same for Lyft and Uber drivers, I see the objection. Most of the people I know who drive for Uber — fellow teachers — do this in addition to a full-time job. Requiring them to take time off from teaching is problematic. For those of us struggling to remain in the district due to affordability, a $40 fee is also problematic. If Kitchen has a way to solve these problems, it hasn’t been communicated to the public.
Personally, I feel much safer with Uber, where the app identifies where I was picked up and the license plate of the car I got into. That doesn’t happen with a cab I flagged down on the street — after waiting alone for long periods of time — and there’s no trail of what car I got into or what driver was behind the wheel. I’ve used Uber in four states and never had an unpleasant experience. If I could say the same about cabs in Austin, perhaps Lyft and Uber wouldn’t be thriving. I have been truly scared for my safety in multiple Austin cabs, particularly when drivers refused to take the route I requested to my desti- nation.
If you don’t feel safe, don’t use it; that makes it less likely I’ll have to pay surge pricing. To be clear, I have issues with Kitchen beyond this one. However, I don’t appreciate her deciding she knows what’s best for me, despite my objections. To me, ride-hailing falls under personal responsibility and decision-making. Would Ms. Kitchen suggest that everyone who signs up for an online dating service or app first get fingerprinted, or does she believe Austin residents can still make their own decisions about personal safety in this area?
By the way, I first contacted her office with my objections in October. Her office finally responded to me last week when I contacted her to say I was glad someone had started the recall petition that I wished I’d had the time or funds to start. At that point, the councilwoman wanted to call and have a conversation with me. Perhaps I would feel differently about her recall if I’d had this, or any, response initially.
If the cab companies had provided even decent service, I wouldn’t have been so quick to abandon them. However, because even decent service was rare, it had the effect that I quit going downtown because it was too hard to get a cab and too unpleasant once I did.
Yes, the bad service provided by Austin’s cab companies hurt downtown businesses — one thing cab companies and the City Council have in common.
Perhaps instead of spending money contributing to City Council campaign funds, the cab companies should launch a campaign to improve their service and win back riders. Until then, I will choose to place my dollars — and safety — with ride-hailing services.