Ridesharing Services Available Across New York State

ALBANY, 06/28/17 -- State Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I/Ref – Oneonta) today commented on the start of ridesharing services (at midnight Wednesday) in upstate New York:

“Ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft are finally getting the green light across New York State.  I was first drawn to the idea of allowing transportation network companies (TNCs) to operate outside New York City in 2014 and worked to fine tune legislation and secure support ever since.  This new transportation option delivers economic, environmental, and public safety benefits and places upstate on equal footing with the rest of the nation.  Business executives, tourists, college students, and everyone in between use ridesharing apps, and expect them to be available.  I was pleased to help pave the way for this business model in upstate communities and look forward to many smooth rides ahead.”

Senator Seward first began discussions regarding TNCs in 2014, sponsored legislation in 2015 to bring TNCs to upstate New York, and convened a senate roundtable on ridesharing in November 2015 to hear from TNCs, insurance companies, local municipal officials, small business owners, disability advocates, and taxi and livery industry representatives. 

In 2016, the senate passed a bill sponsored by Senator Seward focused on the insurance aspects of TNCs only. 

On February 6, 2017, the New York State Senate passed a comprehensive bill, sponsored by Senator Seward, to bring ridesharing to upstate communities. Many provisions of the bill (S.4159) were included in the New York State budget, finally clearing the way for ridesharing to expand outside of New York City. 

On June 5, 2017, the governor signed legislation (S.5814) co-sponsored by Senator Seward to accelerate the ridesharing start date by ten days allowing TNCs to begin operating prior to the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Additional information on ridesharing regulation are available through the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles website at https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/rideshare-information.

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