Lyft hires Gephardt’s K Street firm

Ride-sharing company Lyft is hitting the gas on its lobbying activity.

It may not have the firepower of Uber — Lyft’s competitor that recently hired David Plouffe, President Obama’s former campaign manager — but the company is bringing on its third lobbying firm to help argue its side in Washington.

{mosads}According to federal documents, Lyft brought on former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt’s (Mo.) K Street firm this month to “advocate for the removal of barriers that inhibit ride sharing.”

Gephardt is not listed as one of the people who will be lobbying for the company, though a former staffer is. So are ex-employees of the Senate and transportation agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The company hired its first two lobbying firms earlier this year, according to federal disclosure documents. 

As companies such as Lyft and Uber — which allow people to order a ride from their smartphone — have risen in popularity, they have run into opposition from some local regulators and taxi companies.

Last month, Uber hired Plouffe as its new senior vice president of policy and strategy, in what co-founder Travis Kalanick described as an escalation of its “political campaign” against “the Big Taxi cartel.”