Uber and Lyft just lost an expensive game of political brinkmanship.

In a case billed as Silicon Valley money verse Texas public servants, a vote was held Saturday in Austin to decide whether the city’s existing rideshare laws would be overturned in favour of the companies’ preferred rules, contained in Proposition 1.

Of particularly concern to Lyft and Uber was the city’s requirement that their drivers undergo a fingerprint-based background check, in addition to existing security checks. The pro-Proposition 1 lobby group, Ridesharing Works for Austin, pointed to reported drops in drunk driving, among other issues, in an attempt to convince the Austin public. It didn’t work. Read more…