HOUSTON -- The battle for your business is officially on. Lyft announced Monday it's set to return to Houston later this week and Uber says it looks forward to the competition.
Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 100 into law Monday morning. The legislation overrides cities own regulations of ride sharing companies.
"Every company is going to be able to compete in an open market place to provide the best product that consumers want the most," said Abbott.
At the signing ceremony, the Governor took pointed jabs at cities like Houston who demanded fingerprint background checks of drivers. It's that city regulation that made Lyft leave Houston in the first place.
"Locked out by a bunch of heavy handed bureaucrats in Austin, Texas and other Texas cities that are trying to over regulate the ability of businesses to operate and customers to choose what's best for themselves," said Abbott.
Under the new law, fingerprint background checks for drivers are no longer necessary. The city of Houston remains opposed to the law, but Mayor Sylvester Turner hoping the city can work together with companies to expand rider options while also ensuring safety.
Lyft's spokeswoman confirmed the company will restart operations in Houston Wednesday at 2 p.m. With more drivers and more options, riders could see lower prices.
"Patchwork of regulation only drives up the cost of business," said Abbott. "We're making it very clear today, free enterprise is not contained in city limits."
Uber released this statement this afternoon: "We’re proud of our sustained commitment to Houston, and we look forward to continuing to invest in the city and across the state. We support greater access to transportation options for consumers, which is why we're excited to share that we'll be expanding to Galveston as of 3pm today. We look forward to making Uber available in more Texas cities in the months to come."