A plan to offer riders the option to use a smartphone for hailing a yellow cab in New York City has hit another roadblock this week.

New York Supreme Court Appellate Associate Justice Helen E. Freedman recently issued an emergency injunction which blocks a test of the program from moving forward. In addition, a panel of appeals court judges will review the case soon.

There are some 13,000 yellow taxis in New York City – so it becomes a major market for the app providers if it goes through.

The latest stumbling block was a concern to Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Yassky.

“The Supreme Court was absolutely right that taxi-hailing apps are not only good for the riding public, but perfectly legal as well,” he said in a statement e-mailed to TMCnet. “It is appalling that narrow commercial interests continue to try to block passengers from using the latest technology. You can’t stop progress, and these obstructionists shouldn’t be trying.  We're confident this program will move forward.”

Also, Michelle Goldberg-Cahn, at attorney for the City of New York’s Administrative Law Division, said, "We're disappointed that there is a further delay in implementing the e-hail pilot program.  It's unfortunate that taxi riders will not be able to continue to test this innovative tool for hailing taxis."

The temporary injunction was granted on Wednesday based on a request from New York City livery car groups. It comes the day after the Uber service launched an e-hailing app, CNET reported.

In December, the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission approved the pilot program for the app test to last for one year. Then, the Livery Roundtable, Black Car Assistance Corp. and car-service companies sued the commission in February. They claim the pilot program is unlawful under some city codes and is unfair to racial minorities and the elderly.

Things were looking bright last week for the pilot program when New York State Supreme Court Justice Carole Huff dismissed the lawsuit, TMCnet reported.

Now, the appeals court will likely hear arguments on the case later this month.

“This faux ‘pilot program’ is so fundamentally flawed and illegal in so many respects that it had to be stopped,” an attorney representing the plantiffs, Randy Mastro, said in an e-mail to the media. Mastro was deputy mayor under Rudolph Giuliani.