Update : As of May 29th , 2017,Uber and Lyft have both revert to Austin . The option below are still totally viable , but now that the big hotdog are back in the game , Austin ’s ride - sharing tantrum is about to become even more competitive .
With all the examination at SXSW , includingthat unfortunate outagethat get down up Twitter with vitriol , and the new ride - divvy up bill in the legislature , the conversation around on - need rides is still top the hot - button list for Austin . Since May 2016 , users of Uber and Lyft have had to seek alternative generator for rhytidoplasty around town . Given the retentive ride - fourth dimension and inconvenient schedule available through CapMetro , that mean our homegrown bozo are getting the goods … and a duet have proven themselves to be pretty on equality with the industry gorilla .
Most Popular:
FastenWith the lowest prices , an easy - to - use app , thorough driver sieve , and a reputation for , well , actually showing up , Fasten is the most pop app in township right now . Though there ’s no upsurge pricing , there is an alternative to " advance " your ride ( impart incentive dollars to your pickup truck ) so that you ’re more attractive to nearby driver .
Ride AustinPraised for its innovative " community model , " Ride Austin is a nonprofit organization that pays its number one wood the high percentage among drive - parcel options . The price is comparable to Austin ’s other option , and Uber and Lyft users will observe how familiar the app finger . Riders can " lash out up " their fare and send the remnant to local nonprofits – Ride Austin donate a percentage of premium drive to NPOs .
The Second String:
FareFare used to be the main competition to Fasten … and then it was n’t . It ’s heavy to tell whether it was the undependableness , the cost , or the overuse of burnished green throughout the entire app that caused the sudden shift in popularity . mayhap Fasten just has a good marketing squad . In the lag , the app ’s added some programing service and best-loved - machine driver option – who know , peradventure that will play it back into the spotlight ?
WingzNot that TV show from the ' 90s or a deep - fry sports bar , Wingz scored an early partnership with Austin - Bergstrom and quickly expanded with progress - scheduling ride servicing all over Ithiel Town . The one caveat is that you have to book more than an hour before your ride . It ’s more expensive than the choice , but you ’re also not playing roulette with your ride metre .
InstaRydeThis Canadian fellowship launched in June 2016 in Austin and is like to Uber and Lyft toll - wise . The want of surge pricing and the choice to peak drivers are both welcome feature film . " atomic number 78 " drivers ( the equivalent of Uber Black ’s luxe elevator car option ) end up in the cosmopolitan pool when there are n’t enough drivers , but as it turns out , there are never any drivers – which is kind of a problem for a ride - share serve .
Courtesy of RideAustin
Hailacab / zTripYellow Cab Austin has an range of a function problem , and since August 2016 has been trying to migrate users to zTrip ’s platform to book rides . zTrip is partner with cab companies in other cities as well , and riders will get hold themselves in license , vetted taxicabs or opprobrious cars . One matter that stayed the same , though , is the Hailacab pop - up disavowal that tells you " not to depend on the service . " Poor wording , or the literal truth ?
Get MeGet Me has been in Austin the longest , and yet somehow it ’s also the least like . A glitchy app for passenger and driver , plus an awkward paygrade on iTunes and the Play Store ( 2.5 stars at press clock time ) , bespeak a majorly hit - or - girl experience . That enounce , it does fingerprint drivers , and it appear it ’s still limping along in the drive - percentage scene .
The Trust Tree:
Facebook razz - sharesFacebook radical , likeAustin Underground Rideshare Communityand the female person - onlySee Jane Go , have popped up to encourage drive - sharing . On one manus , means to go guy cable ! There ’s enough trust in this town to get in a total stranger ’s car without the base hit net of a bigger delegacy . On the other hand , giving your societal medium information with strangers might be a formula for catastrophe , but there have n’t been any account of incident yet .
Arcade CityArcade City ( app&Facebook ) is a mere enough conception : a equal - to - peer web that unite drivers to rider in need around the city . It ’s fundamentally decentralized drive - communion , and though the launch of the app last year was much - lauded and hyped , it ’s still unreadable whether it ’s working ( there arerumorsofmoney fuss and scammy deportment ) . The Facebook group may still be the best place to engage with Arcade City .
Cell411Originally a kind of " societal 911 " app that allowed you to make groups , send out your location in suffering , and in the main ramp up a closed internet of peers , Cell411 has supply a ride - part option to its new passing . defrayment accepted include John Cash , credit cards , atomic number 47 ( seriously ) , bitcoin , and other cryptocurrencies . You may even be able to barter .
Screenshot via Fasten/Oren Aks
The Question Marks:
ChariotLaunched in San Francisco and now available in Austin , this appear to be a crowdfunded carpool tool that crowdsources route and occlusive via input from substance abuser . Neighbors can crowdfund a unexampled route by bribe into a Chariot walk , and once vital mass is accomplish , the road gets launch . Chariot is part of Ford ’s City Solutions campaign and the vehicles are also available for private charter .
TRIDEThe website claims it ’s operate in the Austin area , but at pressing clock time , we had n’t found a drug user who ’s actually taken a drive . Tride is more expensive than most of the alternatives , but there ’s no billow pricing and it claims to insure driver $ 20 per hr .
obstruct by all the pick ? Yeah , it ’s a knavish landscape out there . Try usingRideGuruorRideFinder.ioto navigate the closest and least expensive alternatives .
Screenshot via RideAustin/Oren Aks
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Screenshot via Fare/Oren Aks
Screenshot via Wingz/Oren Aks
Screenshot via InstaRyde/Oren Aks
Screenshot via Hailacab/Oren Aks
Screenshot via GetMe/Oren Aks
Screenshot via Tride/Oren Aks