Uber Alternatives in Austin: Ride Austin and Fasten
For my next trick, I will put up a post from the city I’m currently visiting lol.
I got to Austin on Sunday, and decided to meet up with a friend for drinks downtown.
No problem, I’ll Uber down, a 15-minute ride.
Tips from my friend Jason
He gave me two tips: Ride Austin and Fasten.
Ride Austin
Link: About Ride Austin
Link: Download Ride Austin (iOS)
Ride Austin is a non-profit rideshare company.
They have an iPhone and Android app. The interface looks remarkably like Uber – in fact, you might not even realize it’s not Uber after you get it installed.
Ride Austin’s Uber-like interface
Getting it set up is simple. You must enter a payment method to begin using the app. And you can connect it to your Facebook (if you wish) for one-button set-up.
I used my Citi ThankYou Premier, hoping to get 3X Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent, but I’m not sure yet how it will ultimately code. In a pending state, it looks like this:
“Professional services”
To begin my first ride, I simply entered my hotel address and where I wanted to go – but you already knew that.
My driver, Tina, came within 5 minutes, and whisked me away downtown. 15 minutes later, I was there – and it was as easy as I wanted it to be: cashless, quick, simple.
Too bad for Uber
While we drove, I asked Tina about her thoughts on Uber.
And she said something to the effect of how it’s too bad they refused to go through with fingerprinting. And that now, there are other companies filling the void.
Should Uber ever try to return to Austin, they’ll have to battle home-grown companies and will likely lose.
Uber created a market, then a vacuum. And now Austinites are doin’ it for themselves. #highfive
I couldn’t agree more. People get attached to brands, especially local brands – just ask Alaska Airlines.
I enjoyed the experience from app download to arrival.
If you’re planning on visiting Austin, I highly recommend Ride Austin. You can get $20 off your first ride if you use my promo code. I get a $20 credit too – I might have to come back to Austin to use it!
Get $20 off your first ride with Ride Austin
My code is “j6q1gd5v” – enter it after you download in the “Promotions” section of the app to get $20 off.
Can confirm it works
Very proud for Austin. And Uber, good luck ever getting back into this market. Why any company would let Austin go is beyond me. But it’s so good to see citizens creating solutions – and quickly!
Fasten
Link: Fasten
Fasten is available in Austin and Boston so far.
Again, it’s free – and you need to have a payment method to use it. I recommend it for shorter rides.
One, because it’s for-profit (Ride Austin is not-for-profit). And two, there’s a $5 promo code – “OC2992 “- and it’s best to save Ride Austin’s $20 code for a longer ride.
I won’t get into too much detail other than it works in a very similar way.
But I have to give the edge to Ride Austin for being a non-profit – and for filling the void so quickly. They are only 75 days old as of the time of this writing!
I took a short ride on Fasten too, and it was as expected. So if you need a rideshare backup, give this one a download, too.
Bottom line
Bon voyage, Uber AND Lyft – in Austin, anway.
Girl, bye
If you’re coming to Austin, be sure to download Ride Austin and Fasten.
My Ride Austin promo code gets you $20 off your first ride: “j6q1gd5v“
And my Fasten promo code gets you $5 off: “OC2992″
I’m happy to see small, local companies filling the void of startups that couldn’t – or wouldn’t – survive the local legislation.
If you want to explore Austin, try the fantastic restaurants, or get sloppy on 6th St or Rainey St – definitely download these.
Both were tips from a friend of mine who lives here – so I thought I’d pass it on to you guys.
Thanks as always for reading, commenting, and supporting.
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