THE ISSUE:

Localities continue to try to force local taxi companies to step up their services.

THE STAKES:

With a stroke of his pen, Gov. Cuomo can provide a smarter taxi option for the region.Taxi service in the Capital Region has been awful for years. It's an embarrassing way to greet visitors and a frustration to those of us who live here. But the latest efforts to fix some of the problems in both Albany and Schenectady are only Band-Aids that seem unlikely to succeed.

A member of the Albany Common Council, Judd Krasher, with all good intentions, wants to prod taxi firms to accept credit card payments and fix what he described as a broken zone-fare structure. His proposal would make it easier for consumers to file complaints when cabbies don't comply with the rules. The new regulations, he says, would make Albany a model for the Capital Region.

In Schenectady, the City Council is reviewing proposals to grant cab companies a rate hike in exchange for steps to ratchet up the poor quality of their service. One change would be no longer allowing riders to smoke in the vehicles, which drivers already are prohibited from doing.

These efforts are well-intentioned, but they probably wouldn't work. Jurisdictional issues make it difficult to enforce any such regulations that aim to ensure quality throughout the Capital Region. Nor have individual municipalities had much success in fixing myriad taxi problems, including inconsistent service and dirty cabs.

That and similar situations statewide have prompted calls for the state to clear the road for operation of app-driven ride-hailing services, like Uber and Lyft. Competition from these services, which rely on independent drivers using their own vehicles, has been successful in providing more options and raising the quality of service in hundreds of cities in the U.S. and around the world.

Unfortunately, state legislation allowing Uber and Lyft to operate upstate is bogged down, largely due to an effective lobbying campaign by the conventional taxi industry. Upstate residents who have used ride-hailing services elsewhere were disappointed when legislators left town in June without acting.

But the Capital Region has another option. A bill awaiting action from Gov. Andrew Cuomo would open the path for existing taxi services in the Capital Region to operate under a regional set of standards with Capital District Transportation Authority oversight. The CDTA, with a successful track record providing bus service to the entire region, seems to be a sensible choice to take on these added responsibilities. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman John McDonald of Cohoes and Sen. Neil Breslin of Albany, was passed in the final days of this year's legislative session.

Mr. Cuomo, who has often pushed for regional solutions to local problems, may see the bill as an efficient way to force improvements in a private service citizens depend upon. He should sign it into law.

Then, when the state Legislature finally clears the way for Uber and Lyft here, there may be some real competition. Visitors and residents alike will be the beneficiaries of both steps.