The State Senate passed legislation that clears the way for ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, to operate in Upstate New York.
The bill, which was co-sponsored by Republican Senator Rich Funke, passed 53-5 and has been sent to the Assembly. The chamber’s leaders haven’t set a vote on the legislation and could advance their own bill, which would then be reconciled with the Senate’s, reports the State of Politics blog. Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle has said that he supports allowing ridesharing services into Upstate.
Ridesharing companies already operate in New York City. But the Legislature had been unable to agree on legislation to allow companies to operate in Upstate. In the lead-up to this year’s session, the companies — Uber in particular — as well as a contingent of elected officials campaigned for ridesharing legislation. Governor Andrew Cuomo also pushed for legislation that would allow Uber and Lyft into Upstate.
Cab drivers have pushed back against the proposals, though. They says that the bills haven’t held ride sharing services and their drivers to the same standards as cab drivers and cab companies. They also say that the bills should require tougher background checks.
This article appears in The Smallest Minority.
My sister’s family visited NYC this past Christmas with plans of using Uber, but they used taxi cabs instead. If Uber and taxi’s can coexist in NYC, then why can’t they in Rochester?
I’m very dissatisfied with our state politicians who say that they want ride-sharing and think that’s good enough. To me it’s completely unacceptable. Please just hurry up and do your jobs. I need to know one way or another. Give me a date when Uber is going to be here and if it’s not happening, then that’s information I need to know so I can move on.
My want to purchase a specific car with plans to use it to drive for Uber. I’m ready to buy the car today, and so I need to know today.