Albany, NY – The on-demand ride-sharing app Lyft planned to start limited service in New York City on Friday night after reaching agreement with officials to resolve regulatory issues that prompted a lawsuit by the state.
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New York’s attorney general and Department of Financial Services said Lyft agreed to operate “in full compliance” with existing laws and regulations, and that it will start the new service with commercial drivers only.
“Tonight, after making positive progress with local and state leaders, Lyft will launch in all five boroughs of New York City,” company spokeswoman Katie Dally said. “We’ve finalized an agreement to offer immediate access to our friendly, affordable rides through a TLC-licensed model beginning at 7 p.m.”
Dally said Lyft would expand the limited service in the coming weeks.
The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission had posted a notice two weeks ago, in advance of the company’s initial planned startup in Brooklyn and Queens, that its so-called ride share service at that time had not complied with the commission’s safety requirements and other licensing criteria to verify qualifications of its drivers and vehicles.
San Francisco-based Lyft’s plan to bring its pink-mustachioed car service to the New York City market was then halted after the state officials sued. They claimed the company operates as a traditional for-hire livery service using mobile technology that is subject to regulations, not a peer-to-peer transportation platform as claimed.
Both sides have been in court-directed negotiations since.
“We are firmly committed to the notion that regulators can work constructively with companies so that new ideas can come to the market — and that smart regulation should create an environment where innovators can compete,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Department of Financial Services Superintendent Ben Lawsky said in a joint statement. “We will continue to work with Lyft so that any future business it undertakes meets that standard and protects consumer safety.”
The taxi commission did not immediately comment on the agreement.
The officials and company also said it will suspend operations in Buffalo and Rochester Aug. 1 while resolving regulatory issues there.
Dally said that Lyft will work with authorities “to align New York State’s insurance laws and regulations with emerging technologies of the 21st century.”
It a shame how the t&lc; is hurting our economy and make it impossible for a normal guy do be a cab driver by imposing all this nonsense regulations and imposing fines for innocent cab drivers that’s why NYC is the only place where 90 percent of cab drivers are people straight from the boat and ones they learn a little English they find a other job, and it’s dangers to go in a cab, vs other states where being a cab driver is a פרנסה קלה ונקיא. And for a base owner it’s also very hard to run a business because of there regulations by not allowing to dispatch cars that are not affiliated to your base even the driver from the other base have proper insurance and is tlc compliant, so it’s a shame ow the t&lc; is allowing the big company’s like uber and lyft to kill ower local economy and stealing the business from the local company’s that must follow all the crazy licensing tools and pay thousands in fees. By allowing them to be legal although they are bypassing all the rules that the other company’s that don’t have there money must obey, for intense they are allowed to dispach yellow cabs, they are allowed to dispatch vehicles not affiliated to them, and they are allowed to use metered pricing which livery cabs are not allowed, that means big powers like Bloomberg that actually invested in this company are getting unfair advantages to close down small business from hard working low followers..