Lyft expands to San Diego amid cease-and-desist order in Los Angeles

Lyft, the ride-sharing start-up known for its cars with pink mustaches attached to the grill, announced Tuesday that it will expand to San Diego despite its drivers facing possible arrests in Los Angeles.

The San Francisco company connects riders with drivers through a Lyft smartphone app that also processes the payments.

The company, which received $60 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz in May, said users in San Diego will be able to request Lyft rides in time to celebrate the Fourth of July on Thursday.

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“Happy early Independence Day! We’re excited to say we’re launching tomorrow in lovely San Diego,” Lyft said on its Facebook page.

Lyft said San Diego users who enter the code “SDSURF” in the app will receive a $20 credit. Additionally, Lyft drivers in all cities will operate until 4 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Normally, the service runs until 1 a.m. on weekdays.

San Diego is Lyft’s sixth city, after San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and Boston.

In Los Angeles, the service was served with a cease-and-desist letter from Los Angeles’ Transportation Department last week.

Lyft, along with rivals Sidecar and Uber, received letters ordering them to stop operating in Los Angeles as the department determined they were in violation of city ordinances. The Transportation Department said it would arrest drivers of the services and impound their cars for up to a month.

But so far, none of the companies have stopped operating. They say they have agreements with the California Public Utilities Commission that allows them to operate statewide.

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