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Fasten your seatbelts: There's a new ride-hailing app in Austin

The company, called Fasten, hopes to fill a gap left by Uber and Lyft's departure.

Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer
Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.
Expertise E-commerce, Amazon, earned wage access, online marketplaces, direct to consumer, unions, labor and employment, supply chain, cybersecurity, privacy, stalkerware, hacking. Credentials
  • 2022 Eddie Award for a single article in consumer technology
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Laura Hautala

Uber and Lyft said "see ya!" to Austin, Texas, after its citizens rejected a proposition exempting the companies from fingerprinting their drivers. But where those companies saw untenable regulation, a startup saw a big market for its services.

That startup is Fasten, a ride-hailing app that on Friday said it's launching in Austin as soon as possible. Fasten CEO Kirill Evdakov said the company, which now offers service only in Boston, hadn't planned to go live in Austin just yet, but will speed up its timeline.

"We're reaching out to the drivers of Austin and signing them up as they come. This is happening quickly so our app will be available to riders shortly," Evdakov said in a blog post. The company will have to fingerprint its drivers to comply with Austin's requirements.

Evdakov also had some tough words for his competitors.

"Real competition benefits everyone, encourages innovation, and pushes us forward -- together," Evdakov said. "One of the downsides of monopolies and duopolies is their ability to control the market, and in Austin's case, the market was steered against what people wanted."

Lyft and Uber did not respond to requests for comment.