Police in the city of Austin, Texas came to the offices of ridesharing company Arcade City in search of its CEO, Christopher David. A video has surfaced of 10 law enforcement agents, four transportation authorities and six police officers, entering the co-working space that is home to Arcade City’s Austin headquarters. They sought to serve a $500 citation for operating a ridesharing company without completing the requisite paperwork. David, who was out of the country overseeing the development of the Arcade City app,
“Not sure why six police officers are needed to serve a $500 citation. Or why the City of Austin has nothing better to do than punish a startup for attempting to clean up the mess they made by pushing out Uber and Lyft.”
The Arcade City Twitter account chimed in with a playful tweet:
“New FB group! "Arcade City Austin / Request an Arrest" Members: 10 bored APD/ATD officers "Why won't anyone join?!?!"”
Arcade City moving forward with Bitcoin and blockchain integration
Regardless of troubles with local authorities, Arcade City is moving along with the development of a new app, slated for release in August. The company announced via tweet the at-launch integration of blockchain ID through Onename for drivers, as well as Bitcoin payments through AirBitz wallets. Ethereum integration is scheduled to follow. In May, Arcade City won first place for a blockchain startup at the GTEC Awards in Berlin, including a prize of 20,000 euros, and last month partnered with the Unsung app to deliver food to the homeless.
Ridesharing’s conflicts with local governments
The advent of ridesharing services like Uber has caused strife with local governments seeking to apply the same laws as to taxi companies. Arcade City itself came out of the Free Uber campaign to protest ridesharing regulations in New Hampshire, and the company moved into Austin, Texas to fill the void left by Uber and Lyft, which were forced out by the city’s own set of targeted regulations. Earlier this month, Uber in Argentina switched to using Bitcoin debit cards after local officials pressured card companies into denying the company service in an ongoing attempt to force Uber out of Buenos Aires.