Uber has scored clearance to provide luxury car services in New Orleans after city lawmakers voted to authorize its Uber Black option on Thursday.

"We embraced technology and new ways of doing things," Jared Brossett, chairman of the city council's transportation committee, said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

The Uber Black service, which connects customers with Uber drivers in luxury cars through a smartphone app, is now approved under a new city ordinance.

But the council hasn't yet voted on UberX, Lyft and other less expensive ride-sharing options that have become popular among passengers but have faced legal challenges throughout the country and worldwide.

Taxicab drivers and regulators alike have objected to app-based car services, saying they are too difficult to monitor and threaten taxis as an industry.

One of three council members who voted against the measure, Nadine Ramsey cited public safety concerns as a factor in her vote.

"The City Council previously implemented regulations that make owning and operating taxicabs very expensive and, at times, unaffordable. I believe these factors will systematically run taxicab drivers out of business," she added, according to Reuters.

While San Francisco-based Uber has expanded to around 150 cities worldwide, the service has been protested by taxi drivers in London and sued by taxi companies in its home city as well as Chicago and Washington, D.C. Uber was recently banned in Berlin, while Frankfurt issued a temporary injunction against the service earlier this week.

Taxi drivers have good reason to be concerned. A new UC Berkeley study found that app-based services like Uber and Lyft arrive more quickly than traditional taxis and have more dependable wait times, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"Wait times are really important to people's demand for and confidence in using the services," said study co-author Susan Shaheen, co-director of UC Berkeley'sTransportation Sustainability Research Center. "The differences between ride sourcing and taxicabs are notable."

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