It's worth noting that a reasonable software engineering salary in Austin allows you to live in a lot of walkable areas, and along main bus corridors. That said, it seems like most people make their choice of housing without taking any of that into account and then decide to complain about their lack of transit options afterwards.
I believe the last time anyone outside of Austin heard anything about transportation in Austin -- public or otherwise -- it was that they had banned Uber for some reason. What's the latest on that?
It wasn't literally a ban, but it was at least a serious impediment to their operating in the way they want to operate. The TX legislature overturned Austin's regulations with superseding, much more Uber/Lyft friendly regulations, and they are back now.
Speaking as somewhere who first moved to Austin in the 90's, you are so right. While they have worked on it, the growth in population happens faster than the growth in public transport. I take the bus whenever possible (I'm a contract developer, so I have 1-3 different workplaces during a typical year), it is often the case that I have to do at least part of the commute by car.