St. Louis ride-sharing service hits pushback

ST. LOUIS -- A ride-sharing service has started service in St. Louis, ignoring a cease-and-desist order from the city's taxi commission.

Lyft, a smartphone app-based ride service, lets users look for members who offer rides. Lyft drivers, who outfit the front grilles of their cars with large pink mustaches, are separate from for-hire taxi services. There is no set payment on Lyft rides, but passengers are encouraged to make a donation when the ride is over. The Lyft app displays dozens of car icons dotting a map of the city to show potential riders if one is nearby.

The program began Friday in St. Louis, with the San Francisco-based company throwing a launch party in the Cherokee Business District, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

"I just feel like St. Louis should really embrace it and see what it's about," said Jermasa Dees, 27, who was one of three dozen new Lyft drivers who attended the party.

Lyft ignored a cease-and-desist order from the city's taxi commission when the app went live in St. Louis on Friday. Richard Callow, a spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, said a Lyft driver had been given a citation less than two hours after starting and that enforcement officers were handing Lyft drivers lists of registered cab companies that are hiring.

Ron Klein, the commission's executive director, said the commission planned to be in court Monday to seek an injunction to stop Lyft.

Paige Thelen, a Lyft spokeswoman, said injunctions and tickets wouldn't stop the app and that Lyft would support the drivers, which could include paying their fines.

"I think St. Louis is excited," Thelen said. "We have seen a great reaction."

Joe Quinn, 31, of University City, signed up as a Lyft driver.

"I like the concept of collaborative consumption," he said. "I think it's more sustainable. And it makes sense if it is just sitting there anyway you might as well monetize it and make money."

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com