Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft have been outlawed in New York State because of a restriction in the New York State Insurance Law. However, New York City has been granted an exception and Uber and Lyft operate lawfully there. Passage of this bill would alter the state insurance law to allow Uber and Lyft to operate lawfully statewide. It also means that the citizens of upstate cities and towns are no longer treated as secondary and are allowed the same consumer protection and experience as our downstate neighbors.

Upstate cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany are no longer satisfied with being second-tier. We shouldn't have to look at larger cities and think that the services they have are something we don't deserve. Now, we know that not all taxi drivers and operators are providing a bad service, but we also know that many of them are. Without the kind of review system that is in place for Uber and Lyft drivers, we are subject to the behavior, cleanliness, and safety of whatever taxi is assigned to pick us up. As we watch our cities undergo a resurgence, it is critical that we have the proper infrastructure in place to welcome visitors to Western and Central New York and the Capitol Region whether it is for business or pleasure. Winter is coming. Last winter proved that there were far too few taxis as residents and tourists alike were asked to wait for hours for taxis. This is unacceptable if we are to continue our region's turnaround.

Once lawmakers realize that clean, friendly, alternative transportation that is put in check by a review system is good for all businesses in every upstate city, this bill should be passed without issue. We're also talking about creating income opportunities for drivers and curbing drunk driving numbers in places where taxis are less available.

Kudos to the Assemblymembers who have sponsored this bill already. We would like to see every Assemblymember from in and around each upstate city and its suburbs do what is right for their constituents, not what is right for the taxi lobby.

From the bill:

"The bill, A.6090, was introduced by Assemblymember Kevin Cahill and co-sponsored by Majority Leader Joe Morelle and Assemblymember Sean Ryan, allows for transportation network companies (“TNCs”) the necessary insurance regulatory fix to allow for UberX and Lyft. In the Senate, Sen. Jim Seward has sponsored similar legislation (S.4280).

"TNCs have proactively addressed safety issues by developing practices and policies that provide unprecedented transparency for both passengers and drivers. They have worked with insurers to develop policies that provide a significantly higher level of coverage than is required or typical for-hire-vehicles in New York. These policies can help set a baseline for consumer protection while competition will continue to push standards even higher."

Don't just wait for this petition to catch fire. Write to your elected representative in the Assembly and let them know that you demand greater consumer protection.

BUFFALO:

141 Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes East Buffalo peoplec@assembly.state.ny.us

149 Sean Ryan Central Buffalo ryans@assembly.state.ny.us

142 Mickey Kearns South Buffalo kearnsm@assembly.state.ny.us

140 Robin Schimminger Kenmore Schimmr@assembly.state.ny.us

143 Angela Wozniak Cheektowaga wozniaka@assembly.state.ny.us

146 Raymond Walter - Williamsville walterr@assembly.state.ny.us

ROCHESTER:

136 Joseph Morelle - Rochester morellej@assembly.state.ny.us

137 David F. Gantt - Rochester ganttd@assembly.state.ny.us

138 Harry B. Bronson - Rochester bronsonh@assembly.state.ny.us

135 Mark Johns - Fairport johnsm@assembly.state.ny.us

133 Bill Nojay - Pittsford nojayw@assembly.state.ny.us

SYRACUSE:

129 William B. Magnarelli - Syracuse magnarw@assembly.state.ny.us

127 Al Stirpe - Syracuse stirpea@assembly.state.ny.us

ALBANY:

108 John T McDonald III - Albany Mcdonaldj@assembly.state.ny.us

110 Phil Steck - Schenectady steckp@assembly.state.ny.us

109 Patricia Fahy - Albany Fahyp@assembly.state.ny.us

http://assembly.state.ny.us/