Lyft and Kansas City may reunite thanks to new ride-sharing law
April 27, 2017 | Bobby Burch
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Monday signed legislation that could bring the ride-sharing company Lyft back to the Kansas City market.
Passed with strong support from Missouri lawmakers, Gov. Greitens’ signature sets forth regulations for ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, including licensing fees, background checks and inspections.
Lyft halted its Kansas City operations in October of 2014 after the city established for-hire transportation regulations it deemed as too burdensome. In 2015 the company said it wouldn’t return to Kansas City, while Uber agreed to work within the new regulatory framework. Uber and Lyft issued statements saying the new law — which also exempts ride-sharing companies from local and municipal taxes — will allow them to expand throughout Missouri.
The law should help create a more competitive environment for ride-sharing firms in Kansas City, Mo. and create more jobs around the state. Lyft is now in operation in Kansas City, Kan. and Johnson County.
The Kansas City Star reports that the new law will spur most area taxis to operate like Uber and Lyft vehicles. Bill George — the CEO of Kansas City Transportation Group, which operates hundreds of taxis in the area — said that cabs operating under Yellow Cab and 10/10 Taxi will be shifted to zTrip, a “transportation network company” or TNC. TNCs fall under the same state licensing rules as Uber and Lyft.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
TEDxKC speaker Louis Rosenberg: Hive mind key to battling alien threat
Editor’s note: Startland News is exploring a few of the most impactful quotes from speakers at Friday’s TEDxKC event at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “Here we are: the most intelligent species on the Earth. Congratulations. Unfortunately, things are about to change.” — Louis Rosenberg An alien intelligence is headed toward humanity at…
Report: KC startups driving quality job creation across metro
Young Kansas City businesses are substantial job creators for the area, according to a recent report from entrepreneurial resource hub KCSourceLink. In its recent “We Create Jobs” report, KCSourceLink found that new firms that employed fewer than 20 workers created 16,325 new jobs in 2016. And for the past five years, startups created an average…
CAPS put grads on top, alumni say
Education innovation is a growing industry in Kansas City. Leaders say it has grown tremendously within the past two years and will eventually impact the region’s talent pipeline. One of the metro’s trailblazing programs is Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies, CAPS. The program began in the Blue Valley School District in 2009 as…
KCMO to celebrate innovation partners at demo day
Since the publish date on Aug. 22, the location of the Innovation Partnership Program demo day has been changed. It will now be held at WeWork at Corrigan Station at 5:00 p.m. Five Kansas City startups are expected to be toasted next month with a demo day at a popular brewery. The Sept. 11 celebration…