Uber and Lyft will be leaving Austin, Texas after voters said they must change a particular policy.

loading...

Bloomberg/Getty Images[/caption]

Voters in Austin said fingerprinting should be a part of Uber and Lyft's background checks. Both companies spent more than $8 million campaigning to keep fingerprinting out of the background checks because they were too expensive and time-consuming.

Fifty-six percent of those who voted on Proposition One were in favor of fingerprinting. Uber and Lyft planned to stop services today (5/9) after Saturday's vote.

Ride services like Uber and Lyft are great alternatives to a taxi cab service but I'm not interested in getting in a car with someone who isn't thoroughly checked out. Clearly, Austin voters feel the same. At present, only Houston and New York require fingerprinting of ride-sharing drivers. Uber has threatened to leave Houston if the fingerprinting policy isn't reversed because they say it hurts recruiting. My feeling is if you want to compete with traditional taxi services, spend the money to make us feel safer. Illinois should do the same.

See story at Buzzfeed for voter reaction and how Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler responded

More From 97 ZOK