Lyft, UberX are legal everywhere in Pa. except in Philly

YOU CAN'T BLAME the on-demand ride-hailing service Lyft for thumbing its nose at the Philadelphia Parking Authority. After all, the San Francisco-based startup operates with a different business model from traditional taxis. Its MO is to disrupt the status quo, not to kowtow to it.

Lyft (like its larger hail-by-app competitor UberX) lets customers use a smartphone app to book and pay for its service. That's not quite the way business is conducted between riders and licensed Philly taxis.

The Public Utility Commission has approved two-year licenses for "experimental service" for both UberX and Lyft to operate throughout the state - but not in Philadelphia, which is under the purview of the PPA.

And the PPA says its hands are tied. Spokesman Martin O'Rourke said that the authority can only enforce existing state law and that the PPA doesn't have legal jurisdiction to license private ride-hailing companies without a change in state law. "We have a medallion setup," he said. A medallion is a permit issued by PPA that is required to legally operate a taxi. They're increasingly scarce and can cost upward of $500,000.

In an evolving tech-driven world, companies like Lyft and UberX can be regulated more sensibly, in a way that recognizes that their business models are different and that regulators shouldn't try to fit them into an outmoded 20th-century model.

In October, UberX launched here; Lyft kicked off operations on Jan. 30 - both in defiance of PPA and without certification. The PPA has deemed them both to be "illegal hack taxi services."

"The PUC has recognized Lyft is new and different. It's a peer-to-peer model, and it's not the same as a taxi, and new rules are needed," said Lyft spokeswoman Chelsea Wilson. "PPA put Lyft in the same category as taxis, and that fundamentally misunderstands our [business] model."

Predictably, the PPA pushed back, conducting sting operations, fining ride-hail drivers up to $1,000 and impounding vehicles. In a message to PPA-certified taxicab drivers on the PPA's website, the PPA said it had impounded 33 vehicles as of January and encouraged its drivers to rat out UberX and Lyft drivers.

Is that really how we want to roll in Philly?

City Council unanimously passed a resolution Jan. 29 sponsored by former City Councilman and Democratic mayoral candidate Jim Kenney urging the General Assembly to pass legislation enabling the PPA to permit ride-hail operations in the city.

A bill was introduced Jan. 28 by state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, to provide for "transportation network services" and to establish uniform standards in Philadelphia.

That bill should be passed sooner rather than later. It's a disgrace that private ride-hail operations are now legal everywhere in the state except its largest city and tourist destination.

Online: ph.ly/YourBusiness