Smart move by Uber and Lyft to lobby at the state level. Austin is going to be an interesting case study. The impact of Uber/Lyft on transportation patterns (drunk driving, commuting, carpooling) before the ban, during the ban, and after the ban may produce interesting data.

Although RideAustin may have served to partially fill the void, I would guess that many folks forewent (Bachman term) ride-sharing while Uber/Lyft was on hiatus.

I feel that Lyft missed a tremendous opportunity to distinguish their “collaborative” approach against Uber’s more combative posture during the crisis. Especially in light of the current Uber backlash, Lyft would been able to even more powerfully show that not all ride-sharing services need be irascible and arrogant.