The holiday season is a time when many people across the country return home to spend time with family and friends. It is a time for celebration and catching up with these individuals, and many of these meetings take place in our local businesses and drinking establishments. Legalizing ride sharing services in upstate New York will allow residents the peace of mind and flexibility to safely visit our local businesses, while also providing a new market for individuals who wish to make some extra money in their free time. Bringing ride sharing services upstate would greatly help the local restaurant economy, create a new part-time job market and help keep our roadways safe from intoxicated drivers.

New York City has benefited from the flexibility and convenience ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft provide. While taxi services are plentiful in New York City, Uber and Lyft are wonderful alternatives for residents. Many communities in upstate New York, however, lack the abundance of taxi services present in New York City. Adding ride sharing services to these upstate communities would allow the residents of upstate New York the opportunity to practice safe celebrating. Safety will always be a primary concern of mine, and if ride sharing can decrease the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents, then I am all for it if done properly.

In 2016, the New York State Senate passed legislation legalizing ride sharing services for upstate New York. Unfortunately, this legislation was not considered by the Assembly. An issue arose regarding the inflated costs of insurance coverage related to these ride sharing services and proved to be a stumbling block for me and many members of the Assembly. I am in favor of moving forward with a bill to legalize ride sharing because I believe it’s a simple way we can make our roadways safer, but we must ensure the legislation we approve is actually viable and makes sense economically for all parties involved. An independent study out of Temple University indicated that ride sharing services would decrease the number of drunken driving deaths by nearly six percent. In Uber’s “New York State Economic Impact Report,” the company also projects that 13,000 jobs will be created in upstate New York within the first year. These two statistics illustrate the importance of bringing ride sharing to upstate New York.

Just last week, Gov. Cuomo made public his support of Uber and its ride sharing service. While I don’t see eye-to-eye with the governor on many issues, I agree with him on this. It is a bipartisan issue that will save lives and improve our upstate economy. The Assembly Majority must sort out the issues they are having with this legislation and propose a viable solution to get this done.

My conference and I will continue to advocate for legislation that will help small businesses and keep New Yorkers safe. The demand for ride sharing is extremely high and I want to help provide a supply for that demand. I welcome your thoughts on ride sharing or any other legislative matter. Please contact me by emailing blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov or by calling my office at 315-493-3909.