Ride-hailing in Austin: Life without Uber and Lyft is a fun sh*tshow

[NelsonG]

SXSW is known for having breakout apps of the year. There was Twitter, Foursquare and, most recently, Meerkat. 

But this year it's not about anything innovative in tech that's got every attendee pulling out their smartphone and opening the app store. 

SEE ALSO: Uber's Travis Kalanick: Yep, I'm a jerk, basically

In Austin, Texas, there's no Uber or Lyft. To make the 25-minute drive from the airport to downtown Austin, you have to either rent a car, hail a taxi, or download a new app. 

And yes, you read that right: Not even Lyft. 

In Austin, for almost the last year, the two biggest ride-hailing companies in the United States haven't operated. It's a complicated tale of citizens versus corporations, of distaste for a duopoly and annoyance for not complying to town rules, that's left Austin as one of the few areas in the U.S. where "Let's get an Uber" just doesn't fly.  Read more...

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