Half-Off Uber Rides Aim To Keep Downtown Austin Open For Business

For KXAN, Sam Stark [reports](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/half-off-uber-rides-offered-in-december-to-bolster-downtown-businesses-amid-construction/) that with roughly $25 billion in construction projects reshaping downtown Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) rolled out a targeted fix to keep visitors coming: 50% off Uber rides throughout December. The discount applied to trips within a 30-mile radius of Sixth Street, covered rides up to $80, and allowed for up to six trips—three round-trips—[using vouchers available through the DAA website](https://downtownaustin.com/). The program is designed to reduce friction as parking and access are disrupted by long-term projects, including the city’s massive convention center redevelopment.

For downtown business owners, access is everything. “It’s not going to completely mitigate everything, but it does take away a barrier for folks to enjoy all of the wonderful establishments and local businesses in downtown Austin,” said Heather Potts, co-owner of Foxy’s Proper Pub and Cedar Door. Parking, she noted, has become one of the biggest obstacles. “We like the idea of the Uber partnership, because that’s a barrier for a lot of people coming downtown, which is finding a place to park,” Potts said. Funded through the DAA’s $14.3 million annual budget, the initiative is part of a broader effort to help small businesses survive the construction period and “make it to the other side,” with the alliance indicating it could return in the spring if the pilot shows results .

**_Related: _**For KVUE, Hannah Rucker [reports](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/austin-unlimited-parking-fee-waiver-park-atx-safe-ride/269-fa6b0331-e1b9-4316-b36d-863da1c602d6) that the City of Austin’s Parking Ticket Waiver Program lets drivers leave their car in a paid Park ATX spot overnight and have the fee waived if they show proof they took a safe ride home via rideshare, taxi, or bus. The city says the waiver resource is seldom used—“only a couple times a month,” said Lyndon Meris with the Parking Division—but there’s no limit to the number of waivers and the program is intended to keep people from making unsafe choices just to avoid a ticket. Meris emphasized that getting home safely “and be alive the next day and save thousands of dollars and someone else’s life, that’s more than worth it” during December’s high-risk travel period, as safe alternatives like CapMetro Night Owl buses run late into the night.