As Uber Rival Lyft Battles Regulatory Issues In New York, The Founder Of Reddit Says He's One Of Its Drivers

If you hop in a Lyft car in Brooklyn, don't be surprised if Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian is behind the wheel.

"Tomorrow I welcome @kyft to my hometown #Brooklyn as a driver - maybe I'll give you a ride. Starts at 7pm!," Ohanian tweeted last night.

It's not clear if there's some underlying purpose to being a Lyft driver, or if he's just doing it for fun.

When asked on Twitter, Ohanian said it was to pay for a date with his girlfriend and to see the movie "Snowpiercer."

But Ohanian, dubbed the "hero of the internet," is a big proponent of activism and "fighting the man."

Lyft is undergoing some regulatory challenges in New York right now as it gears up to launch in Brooklyn and Queens today. Both the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) don't want Lyft to operate in Brooklyn and Queens because "ridesharing" is illegal. Lyft also recently received a cease-and-desist letter from the DFS.

"Lyft's ongoing law violations will not be tolerated and must halt," Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Crains New York.

Uber doesn't face the same issues because all of its cars and drivers in New York are licensed by the TLC.

So maybe this is Ohanian's way of showing his support for the startup. Business Insider has reached out to Ohanian for more details and will update this story if we hear back from him.