Lyft to pay $300,000 to settle New York state lawsuit

Lyft, the ride-hailing service, will pay $300,000 to settle allegations that it violated New York laws.

The New York attorney general's office sued Lyft last summer for operating in the state without requiring its drivers to have commercial licenses or proper insurance. As part of the settlement, Lyft has agreed to follow vehicle-for-hire laws in the state, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office said Thursday.

Lyft said in a statement Thursday that the settlement was part of its efforts to bring "peer-to-peer ride sharing to New York state at large."

In other states, Lyft drivers are ordinary people that agree to a background check and use their personal cars to pick up Lyft customers. However, Lyft can't operate that way in New York since the state requires drivers to have a commercial license and insurance. Lyft drivers in New York currently have commercial licenses, the company said.

Founded three years ago, Lyft is based in San Francisco and operates in several cities, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.

© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.