Ride-sharing app Lyft has been operating illegally in Miami-Dade County for a little over two weeks now, and the app's directors and lobbyist Jorge Luis Lopez are trying to resolve their legality issue.
They are working on new model legislation that seeks to make room for apps like Lyft in county code. If the Board of County Commissioners approves, the service has the potential to become legal.
Because ride-sharing apps like Lyft and Uber are fairly new, they don’t have a place in current legislation.
"We’re trying to create a change of behavior,” says Veronica Juarez, director for governmental relations for Lyft. “We’re trying to incentivize people to both be available to accept a ride, when they can, and also use [the service] as a passenger.”
Juarez says Lyft should be considered a “transportation network” that can coexist with other forms of transportation, like taxis and limousines.
"The big paradigm shift is we’re not going to turn into taxis, and taxis aren’t going to turn into us,” says Lopez.
On Wednesday, the Board of County Commissioner’s transportation and aviation committee will discuss Lyft, as well as enforcement issues.