Ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft have been thwarted in their efforts to enter the St. Louis market thus far. These would-be competitors offer local politicians “insufficient opportunities for graft,” according to Glenn Reynolds. Uber and Lyft are doing business in many major markets in the U.S. and abroad, but entrenched interests continue to fight their existence, not through market competition, but via influence on local governments. The St. Louis Business Journal ran a video on the local efforts of Uber and Lyft in early May — linked here. Lyft now awaits the decision of a St. Louis Circuit Court judge, discussed here, as to whether its business model falls under the regulations of the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission. Coincidentally, the MTC is controlled by local taxi companies.