Cab Drivers in Austin Facing Competition From Illegal Rogue Taxis

Drivers need background checks and reviews before becoming city-approved cab drivers

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Getting from point A to point B in Austin is growing more and more difficult as a population boom clogs highways and streets and eats up valuable parking spaces downtown.

Ground transportation is regulated by the City of Austin to keep riders safe – and to keep just anyone with a car from profiting without regulation.

Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for three years, cab driver Johnny Rushing has watched, frustrated, as drivers pull to the side of the road on Trinity Street between 7th and 8th streets in downtown Austin and unload people headed to the 6th Street district.

When the night is over, the same vehicles pick them up in the same spot and head back to Austin's West Campus area, near the University of Texas, Rushing said.

(H/T KP)