It has just been announced that Lyft and Uber have been given permission to operate in Allegheny County. The Commission, adopting a public service attitude and listening to reason as laid out in our Policy Brief of July 10, has decided it no longer makes sense to deprive the County of this innovative service.
Requiring only that the companies have the appropriate insurance, maintain safety standards mandated for vehicles used in for- hire transportation of the public, and that qualified drivers be used, the two companies can operate until permanent permitting can be granted.
What a great victory for common sense and a lot of reasoned pressure and free market advocacy at the Public Utilities Commission. Having written the aforementioned Brief on July 10 laying out these exact PUC conditions for granting permission to operate, the Institute is pleased to see its ideas are shared–perhaps even listened to. This is especially true of our admonition that operating permission ought to granted before the end of July.
