Controversial ride-sharing service Uber expanded operations into the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena and the South Bay Thursday, even though the company was ordered by the city to stop operating some parts of its business in June.

The company, which uses a smartphone app to connect passengers with paid drivers, is rolling out additional cars to those areas, where it says there has been a huge demand. Previously, drivers could take passengers to those areas, but rarely picked up from anywhere outside of the central area of L.A.

“There are many drivers who already live in these communities, so for them, it makes the job even more convenient,” Uber L.A. General Manager William Barnes said in a statement. “At the same time, riders were used to getting an Uber from L.A. to outside the city and now it will be easier for them to get back.”

Instead of calling for a cab, Uber passengers use a smartphone app to request a car. There are price tiers based on the type of car ordered, from the UberX cars that are often drivers’ personal vehicles to company-owned black cars and more expensive SUVs.

Drivers don’t have meters. Instead, they use another smartphone app that calculates mileage using GPS. An UberX ride from Encino to Hollywood would cost about $45, and can be paid via smartphone. A regular taxi would cost about $10 more.

But the rapid growth of car-for-hire companies that operate outside of the traditional licensed taxi system has drawn ire from the city’s cab companies. In June, drivers staged a protest around City Hall, calling for the city to shut down companies they say are cutting into their earnings and are potentially unsafe for passengers, a day after Uber was sent a cease-and-desist order from the city’s taxicab administrator, Tom Drischler.

Two other firms that offer similar services, Lyft and Sidecar, also received letters.

At issue is whether the popular firms are violating the city’s taxicab regulations by using drivers that aren’t licensed to carry passengers and driving cars that are not inspected or properly insured. Uber has faced similar battles in New York, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco.

Despite the legal challenges, Uber spokesman Andrew Noyes said expanding outside of the central region of L.A. has been in the works for a while.

The company differs from competitors because most of its drivers are commercially licensed (although it does use noncommercial drivers for its less-expensive UberX option) and most of its cars are company-owned. It also performs background checks on drivers and carries insurance for the cars.

Last year, Uber, Lyft and Sidecar reached an agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission that allowed the start-ups to continue operation while the rule-making process continues, something the city opposed under former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s administration.

To clarify the rules, PUC Commissioner Michael Peevey proposed a plan July 30 for the state to take over regulating the companies entirely, assigning them to their own new category of transportation network.

Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a statement supporting that move Aug. 1.

“This decision allows new, cost-effective solutions while protecting public safety through common-sense regulations,” he said. “I also look forward to working closely with L.A.’s taxi companies to revisit our existing franchise agreements to adopt similar innovations.”

And since the letters were issued, enforcement of the city’s cease-and-desist orders has been lax.

Los Angeles Department of Transportation, which oversees the licensing of taxicabs in the city, and was behind the cease-and-desist orders, declined to comment and pointed to the mayor’s statement.

The PUC will decide Sept. 5 if it will take over ride-sharing licensing. The national trade group for cabbies, the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association, does not support the option. Its president, William Rouse, who is also general manager of Yellow Cab in Los Angeles, was not available for comment.