It's Thursday, y'all!

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high in the mid-80s.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Ann Wood!

Today’s newsletter is 1,104 words — a 4-minute read.

Uber is betting billions on a driverless future, but the secret to making the economics work could be its vast army of human drivers.

Why it matters: Uber believes a hybrid network of robots and people — of the sort operating in Austin — can keep the expensive autonomous vehicles busier, and therefore more profitable, than fleets made up entirely of robotaxis.

The big picture: Think of a high-tech robotaxi like an airplane: It costs money whether it's carrying passengers or sitting on the ground.

• The more trips each vehicle makes, the more revenue Uber and its robotaxi partners can squeeze from that expensive asset.

Between the lines: Ride-hailing is a supply-driven business, and robotaxis aren't a substitute for drivers, Uber says — they're an additional form of supply.

Follow the money: Robotaxi economics remain unproven, Uber's head of autonomous mobility and delivery, Sarfraz Maredia, tells Axios, with no company yet making money operating them.

• So far, Uber says, robotaxis are taking shorter city-center trips, while drivers get longer, more lucrative ones.

That flexibility is an advantage, Uber says.

• Uber can size its robotaxi fleet for normal demand and summon more human drivers when needed.

Reality check: Drivers will be displaced eventually.

• Part-time drivers who use Uber as a safety net — women, caregivers and lower-income workers — will be disproportionally affected, the company acknowledges.

By the numbers: Uber says trips are up in Austin, where Waymo AVs are sharing the Uber app with drivers, and driver earnings have stayed consistent.

Yes, but: Independent research from Gridwise, an app that lets gig drivers track earnings, expenses and mileage, had different findings.

• In Austin, where Waymos are exclusively available on Uber, base pay and gross pay per hour rose less than those of rideshare drivers in other parts of the country, suggesting AV growth could already be putting pressure on driver earnings.

The bottom line: Humans may make Uber's robotaxi math work. Whether the math works as well for the humans is less certain.

Kerbey Lane Cafe is turning its beloved queso into a way to help pay off local students' school lunch debt.

Driving the news: Kerbey Lane's new Queso for Classrooms initiative directs a portion of queso sales at all 10 locations toward paying off Austin ISD students' outstanding school meal balances.

Zoom in: We caught up with CEO Mason Ayer, whose parents opened the first Kerbey Lane in 1980, about the initiative, Austin's changing restaurant scene and his favorite menu items.

This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.

1. What inspired Queso for Classrooms, and why did you decide to focus on helping Austin ISD students pay off school meal debt?

"I'm a proud product of AISD, and I credit my public school education with helping set me up for success. ... As a father of young children, the idea that any child might go hungry or lack the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and thrive is heartbreaking to me."

2. Kerbey has been an Austin staple for more than four decades. What's the biggest change you've seen in Austin's restaurant scene?

"One of the biggest changes I've seen is the dramatic decline of traditional full-service casual dining. Austin has an incredible restaurant scene, but increasingly, your choices are fast-casual concepts, expensive full-service restaurants, or well-funded national brands.

• We've evolved tremendously over the past decade, elevating our menu, service model, cocktails, and wine program to meet the expectations of a much more sophisticated dining city. But we've remained committed to being an approachable, affordable, locally and family-owned restaurant."

Underrated picks

🌮 Veracruz All Natural is opening a new location in former Garbo's space on North Lamar Boulevard. (Austin Business Journal 🔒)

📱 Electronic music club Kingdom is introducing a new "phone-free" policy. (Austin American-Statesman)

✏️ Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has issued a series of so-called executive orders, raising questions about whether he's overstepping his authority. (Texas Tribune)

👋 Nicole here. I somehow scored a reservation to Escuela before Oak Hill's newest farm-to-table Tex Mex spot blew up on social media.

• I now understand what all the fuss is about.

Driving the news: The restaurant opened last month on the grounds of the former Oak Hill elementary school, giving the historic property a second life.

🍸 To drink: You must get the Maestra Martini ($17), made with tequila blanco, cucumber cordial, seasonal herb olive brine and citrus.

• It's herbal and balanced without being overpowering, and it comes with a sidecar pour — a welcome bonus that makes the price feel worthwhile.

🍽️ To eat: The menu is built for sharing. We started with the salsa tasting ($9), which comes with several seasonal, rotating salsas, along with the corn rib elotes ($11) and embered carrots ($12).

• For the main event, we split the vacio steak and chicken fajitas ($67). The spread came with homemade flour and corn tortillas, grilled onions, queso fundido, rice and beans.

Worth noting: My husband and I were celebrating our one year anniversary, and the staff made the night feel special with complimentary champagne and dessert.

Six-word review: Thoughtful service with a memorable meal.

What's next: Escuela is just one piece of the property's plans. A barbecue restaurant called Campo is expected to open soon on-site, though an exact date hasn't been announced.

Scoring a reservation

Austin kids will have a little more daylight than trick-or-treaters in much of the rest of the country.

Why it matters: Whether your goblins prefer daylight or darkness, local sunset times can help you find the sweet spot for Oct. 31 trick-or-treating.

By the numbers: The sun will set around 6:45pm in Central Texas.

• That's compared to before 6pm in nearly a quarter of U.S. counties.

What's next: Later that night, much of the country will shift clocks back one hour.

• Nov. 1 marks the end of daylight saving time, and the start of much earlier sunsets all around.

Thanks to Astrid Galván and Bob Gee for editing this newsletter.

Editor's note: The first item in yesterday's newsletter about the District 9 Austin City Council race has been corrected to reflect that Council Member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri voted in favor of a development agreement for the Dog's Head tract (not a special tax zone).

🍽️ Asher recommends El Mesón and Fonda San Miguel as alternative queso fundido purveyors, if you can't get a seat at Escuela.

🐟 Speaking of South Austin restaurants, Nicole is excited about this new coastal Mexican concept replacing Keepers later this year or early 2027.