Breiner said citations will be issued in the three counties where violations have occurred. “All three have indicated that they will prosecute when given sufficient grounds for a prosecution,” he said.

The citations came after a commission investigator took multiple Lyft and Uber rides this summer, documenting the drivers, vehicles and fares paid, Breiner said.

Lyft launched in Omaha and Lincoln in April, and Uber launched in May in Omaha and on Thursday in Lincoln.

Omaha driver Todd Snover said the tickets are a hot topic of discussion on a private Facebook page for Omaha-area Lyft drivers. He said the drivers who were visited by the investigator posted photos of their citations, which included court dates.

Snover said he plans to keep driving despite the threat of a citation. Customer traffic was slow in July and early August but is picking up with college students returning, he said.

“I was still out and in driver mode the last couple of days,” he said. “I’m not hiding.”

Another Omaha driver, Jamie Brown, also said she is not afraid to keep driving. However, she said some drivers do not want to risk having a criminal citation.