Uber, the mobile app-based reservation system that allows a customer to request a luxury vehicle on demand, is inching its way ever closer in many markets, including Washington, D.C., despite widespread opposition. Earlier this year, the service was the subject of a sting operation by city taxi inspectors.

The D.C. Council committee, according to the Washington Post, has recently passed draft legislation that would define a new class of for-hire vehicles, other than cabs and limousines: “Sedan class vehicles shall operate exclusively through dispatch and shall not accept street hails. Sedan class vehicles shall calculate fares exclusively using a time and distance method.”

One of the bill’s sponsors, Mary M. Cheh, was quoted in the Washington Post: “It serves a certain niche. Why should we kill it if that’s what people want? It’s not for everybody but there’s a slice of the public that wants that.”

Operators in many other cities, like New York and Nashville, are concerned about its similarities to Avis WeDriveU and the fact the Uber is bypassing regulations.

Limousine Digest is following the story and will publish a future article about what is happening nationwide. LD06/12