Lyft Flouts Philly Ban
Ready to ride-share? If you answered affirmatively, take note: Lyft is scheduled to start service in Philadelphia on Friday evening. The company, which competes with conventional taxis by pairing passengers with private drivers offering up space in their car, is a popular competitor of Uber. Interestingly, both ride-sharing services have been banned by Philadelphia’s parking and transportation authorities. Lyft, however, seems not to care.
Lyft offers affordable ride-shares and will soon start business in Philadelphia – despite the fact that such services are banned citywide.
Lyft is scheduled to begin offering business in Philadelphia as of 6pm this Friday, January 30th. People can use their smartphones to hail a nearby driver and get where they need to go. The driver, of course, gets money for the fare. Lyft and Uber compete with traditional taxi services by cutting out the middleman – those interested in offering someone a ride can directly interact with passengers, thereby saving time and money for everyone.
The ride-sharing business model has met with some serious criticism across the country, however. Many municipalities have argued that there is no way to license or regulate the drivers offering their services through these companies, making Lyft and Uber unsafe and open to legal ccomplications. Taxi companies obviously dislike the competition. Whatever the reason, ride-sharing has faced challenges in many places, with some cities opting for out-and-out bans.
Philadelphia is one of those cities. While the state opted to issue a temporary approval for ride-sharing in certain parts of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia was not included in the deal. Lyft has already announced that it will pay any and all citations or legal fees associated with drivers doing business in the city, openly flouting the ban. Uber has been doing business in Philly since the fall in spite of tickets and impoundings of drivers’ cars. It remains to be seen who will win the struggle over ride-sharing in Philadelphia.
