Pa. likely won’t legalize ridesharing this year, legislators say

Ridesharing startups will have to hold their breath a little longer.

The state will likely not make a decision on the legality of ridesharing — apps like uberX, Lyft and Sidecar — this year, legislators said last week, according to an Inquirer report. State legislators were considering two bills on the topic, one that would legalize ridesharing in the state and another that would exempt Philadelphia from statewide regulation.

“I can’t see how we can get it done, there just isn’t consensus,” said Rep. John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’re trying to invent something that doesn’t exist, and we have to get the answer right.”

The announcement comes after Uber garnered more than 42,000 signatures on a petition in favor of ridesharing in Pennsylvania.

The chairman of the state House committee discussing the bill to legalize ridesharing said he would support making Philadelphia exempt from statewide regulation.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the state’s transportation regulatory commission proposed a $7 million fine against Lyft for operating without a license.