Upstate New York, your Uber is arriving. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation late Monday allowing ride-hailing services to begin in Upstate cities like Buffalo, as well as all of Long Island, on June 29.
Ride-hailing apps had been limited to the New York City area until lawmakers voted earlier this year to allow them to expand. Lawmakers then voted to move up the start date to the end of June to allow ride-hailing to begin in time for the busy July 4th weekend.
In a statement, Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang said the company "can't wait'' to begin picking up passengers in communities throughout the state.
"This change in the timeline is great news as we tend to see a spike in DWIs during the Fourth of July holiday," said Erie County Legislature Majority Leader Joseph Lorigo.
Pegula Sports and Entertainment also welcomed the news, announcing Uber as the official ride-sharing partner of the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bandits.
“As soon as ride-sharing was legalized in New York State, we enthusiastically initiated discussions to become partners,” said Erica Muhleman, PSE’s executive vice president of business development. “The Bills, Sabres and Bandits share in Uber’s mission of providing reliable, affordable transportation to all community members, while increasing the safety of our roadways through proactively reducing impaired driving. Through our partnership, Uber will have a very positive effect on the guest experience at our venues.”
Fans visiting New Era Field, KeyBank Center and HarborCenter will have the opportunity to enjoy Uber Pickup and Drop-off Zones to simplify their travel to and from events. Uber also is working with the Bills and Sabres to become fully integrated in the My One Buffalo app, which already provides fans with ticket management service and many other features.
