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UberX and Lyft will be illegal again in Philly ... so now what?

Around noon Friday, UberX and Lyft will become outlaws in Philadelphia again. What that will mean for the more than 1,200 drivers in the city is far from clear.

"They're illegal," said Dennis Weldon, the Philadelphia Parking Authority's general counsel. "The full range of enforcement penalties is available."

In the past, the PPA has ticketed drivers and the company they work with up to $1,000 for being an illegal service provider, and has impounded vehicles. It is up to the PPA's enforcement department to determine how aggressively to enforce regulations. Weldon would not say whether these measures will be repeated.

"It's all on the table. We're not saying we will," he said. "We're saying it's illegal."

Weldon did say, though, there wouldn't be enforcement action taken against an UberX or Lyft driver with a passenger.

"We're not going to disrupt someone's transportation," he said.

Uber and Lyft have both said they will continue operating in Philadelphia and urged the Pennsylvania General Assembly to create a regulatory framework for the industry.

The sudden policy change in Philadelphia has left some ride-share regulars confused.

"I think it's an inconvenience for people like myself," said Justin Heartsfield, 22, who works in IT at Penn Medicine and drives part time for Lyft for extra spending money. "I can do without it," he said, but after the bills were paid, "I'd be broke."

He expected he would be more cautious about picking people up in busy central parts of the city to avoid the possibility of penalties, he said. As a sometime passenger of both services, though, he didn't think the legal questions would keep him from using UberX or Lyft.

How long this legal limbo lasts depends on the legislature. A temporary authorization bill that legalized the ride-share companies in the city in time for the Democratic National Convention in July lapsed last week. The legislature doesn't meet again until Oct. 17, and the question of how to regulate the industry is sure to come up.

"We're hoping that by the time Oct. 17 comes around, and that gives us another 10 days, we're doing everything to get this moving," said Rep. Maria Donatucci, head of the Philadelphia delegation to the House. "It's time."

Experts familiar with emerging technologies say Philadelphia's seesaw experience on the legality of ride hailing apps  isn't surprising. Regulations often lag behind innovation, as governments struggle to anticipate how new technologies fit into existing legal frameworks. That Uber and Lyft are largely dismissing Philadelphia's local regulations isn't shocking. either, said Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of Rutgers University's Bloustein Local Government Research.

"It's Uber and Lyft that want to go through the state legislative process because that provides consistent regulatory practices across the state," he said. "They don't want to have to deal with individual regulations in every municipality."

Meanwhile, though, Weldon described the PPA as an agency stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"We don't want to be in this position," he said. "The parking authority does not want to do this."

If the legislature doesn't come up with a regulatory framework by the end of the month, Weldon said, the PPA could pursue an injunction against Lyft and Uber to stop them from operating in the city.

Even drivers are seeking consistent statewide regulation.

"I would rather have the same regulation and the same stuff for everyone," said Ali Razak, president of the Philadelphia Limousine Association, which also represents Uber Black drivers and has engaged in an effort to create an alliance for UberX drivers.

He said cracking down on UberX and Lyft would draw attention but be ineffective.

The PPA reaffirmed ride hailing apps' illegal status in the city in a statement released Tuesday night and listed a number of relaxed regulations against cab companies that will allow them to be more competitive. The changes were prompted by the state's authorization expiring and a lawsuit against the PPA filed by the holders of 1,000 Philadelphia taxicab medallions alleging the PPA wasn't treating cab companies and ride-hailing apps, which the plaintiffs argue are the same kind of business, fairly.

As legislators, regulators, and the people in the city's transportation vehicles sort out what is legal and what isn't, one expert said he believed that, eventually, cabs and ride-hailing apps will coexist.

"These services provide immense value in many different ways," said Sunil Wattal, a Temple University associate professor of management information systems. "The challenge to the regulators is to keep enabling that value and having a more level playing field for the existing industry."