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Two drivers for the ride- sharing companies Lyft and Uber each received more than $1,300 in citations over the weekend after Madison police targeted them with a sting operation, authorities said.

The tickets mark a shift in how police are responding to the controversial companies, which have been offering rides to Madison customers for weeks despite the city saying they amount to unlicensed taxis.

Police officials said in March they could cite drivers or launch sting operations, but they also said doing so was not a top priority and that they hoped the companies would voluntarily stop giving rides. As Lyft and Uber stayed active, though, Capt. Richard Bach of the department’s traffic division said police and city officials decided citations were necessary.

“There needed to be enforcement action taken to send a message that the city was not going to tolerate their operation without licensing,” Bach said.

An Uber driver was cited Friday morning after a plainclothes officer used the company’s smartphone app to arrange a ride from the Westgate Mall on the West Side to the 600 block of State Street, Bach said.