Just after Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced his ideas for a compromise on the growing ride-hailing app debate, the political action committee Ridesharing Works for Austin made a big announcement. On Tuesday, they revealed that they had collected 65,103 signatures in just 21 days in support of essentially repealing the City Council’s new background check rule, forcing council to either comply immediately (within 10 days after all of the signatures are validated) or to put the issue on the ballot for the public to vote on.

The 65,103 signatures collected is roughly 45,000 more signatures than are legally required to put the issue on the ballot.

At this point, it is unclear whether or not the mayor’s compromise proposal will affect Ridesharing Works for Austin’s ballot efforts. In a statement released on Tuesday, the group said that they’re shooting for the upcoming May 7th election to put the initiative on the ballot.

In addition to the fingerprint-based background checks, other recently passed regulations that would be rolled back under the new Ridesharing Works for Austin effort include:

• The “trade dress” requirement – also passed in December, this would require drivers to display some sort of emblem on their car, identifying which ride-hailing app they are working for
• The pickup/drop-off requirement – also passed in December, this would require all pickups and drop-offs to occur at the curb, rather than in active traffic lanes

Some background information: 

Almost immediately after City Council passed the fingerprint-based background check ordinance for ride-hailing companies in December, the political action committee Ridesharing Works for Austin launched an effort to repeal it. The new group is a coalition that includes ATX Safer Streets, TechNet, and Austin Music People (and more recently includes the Old Austin Neighborhood Association, Engage ATX, and Net Choice. It is also supported by Uber and Lyft.

The goal of Ridesharing Works for Austin is to collect at least 20,000 signatures in support of essentially repealing the new background check rule, forcing City Council to either comply immediately or to put the issue on the ballot for the public to vote on. Both Uber and Lyft have raised concerns about their ability to continue operating in Austin if the background check rule goes into effect. You can learn more about Ridesharing Works for Austin and its petition drive here.