Lyft has officially reached a deal to operate in New York City, though the business model will differ from how the company operates in other markets. According to the New York Post, Lyft will only be able to provide black cars that have been approved by the city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission. That means you won’t be able to just hop in a stranger’s car with a pink mustache on the bumper and toss a few bucks to the driver.
After claiming it would go rogue in the Big Apple, the ride-sharing app Lyft caved in to regulators on Friday and agreed to immediately start offering the service using only black cars in compliance with city law. The San Francisco-based company reached an agreement with the city Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court. It also reached a deal with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to halt its Buffalo and Rochester operations by Aug. 1 for not following state regulations on insurance. “We don’t believe any city law has the jurisdiction to do anything to these drivers,” co-founder John Zimmer had said earlier this month. “We feel we are not tied to these laws.” But a judge slapped Lyft with a restraining order on July 11 four hours before hundreds of New Yorkers planned to hit the road moonlighting as cabbies for donations.
