The Star

In New York, the city council is considering a bill that would not only create a similar app, but also enable taxis to be called using Uber, Lyft or other third-party apps. 

“Instead of making new technologies illegal or regulating them out of business, we should provide a level playing field with fair competition so that companies, drivers and riders all win,” said New York councillor Ben Kallos, the bill’s sponsor. 

Chicago opened a new front in the war on ridesharing services like Uber, approving a plan to sponsor an app for riders to hail local cabs. 

Chicago appears to be the only major city to agree to develop its own app, although New York City Council Member Ben Kallos this week proposed a similar app. The Chicago move also represents a political push from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a union which has organised drivers in two cities so far.