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Uber's Western Massachusetts service area, according to the company's website.

(Uber)

This post has been updated with a statement from Uber.

Uber, the ride sharing service which has won devoted followers and harsh critics in cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco is coming to Western Massachusetts.

The company announced the expansion in a blog post Friday. The move makes Springfield the third metro area in Massachusetts to gain Uber service, after Boston and Worcester. The expansion had been the subject of rumor since last summer, when BostInno spotted online job listings for Uber drivers in Springfield.

"For months, Springfield residents have been asking about Uber coming to town," wrote Uber spokesman Matt Wing in a statement. "We are excited to now be bringing Springfield riders fast, reliable transportation with the push of a button and giving drivers the opportunity to earn a better living with greater flexibility.

Uber allows users to hail cars with their phones, with all payment and location details handled through the company's smartphone app. Drivers sign up through the app and use their personal cars to ferry customers, at rates competitive with or cheaper than local taxis.

It is an arrangement that appeals to hundreds of thousands of plugged-in riders, who flock to the app's dual charms of low pricing and being able to hail a ride without waiting outdoors. But it has also attracted controversy, with municipal governments, taxi driver groups and labor advocates criticizing the company's alleged disruption of transit, labor and safety standards.

Cab drivers in Boston and London have protested the service as an unregistered and licensed threat to the public. Critics have raised concerns about Uber's vetting of drivers, pointing to cases like that of a Boston Uber driver accused of raping a passenger last year. And in New York, Uber drivers themselves have protested low wages as the company cut rates to compete with the city's iconic yellow cabs.

The company has defended its safety record, saying it completes rigorous background checks of its drivers.

The company has also clashed with local government in Massachusetts; in June, Uber castigated Cambridge's licensing commission as clinging "blindly to the past" when the board discussed regulating ride-share services. Gov. Charlie Baker today proposed a law that would bring Uber and its competitor Lyft under state regulatory authority.

Uber did not directly respond to a question from MassLive asking whether the expansion is linked to the planned 2017 opening of the MGM Springfield casino. In February, the service inked a deal with Mohegan Sun to provide 24/7 service to its casinos.

The Western Mass. service will only offer Uber's cheapest option, uberX, with the same fare structure as in Boston -- $0.21 per minute, $1.20 per mile, a $2 base fee and a $1 "safe rides" charge. The service area will cover a roughly square chunk of Western Mass., with North Adams, Greenfield, Sheffield and Springfield at its edges.