Possible modifications of the relativistic string which preserves conformal invariance in the conformal gauge is investigated using zweibein fields. A fully reparametrization-invariant action yielding Liouville's equation is then constructed without the introduction of auxiliary fields. This action breaks the local two-dimensional Lorentz invariance and the corresponding extra degree of freedom reduces in the conformal gauge to a free field. For open strings the variation of the action implies that the Liouville field and this free field are connected by a Bäcklund transformation at the boundary. In certain cases it is shown that this extends to hold everywhere. If the local Lorentz invariance is restored, then the reparametrization algebra acquires the anomalous term necessary for the quantization in subcritical dimensions.