New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Monday night, allowing ridesharing services to operate outside of New York City beginning June 29.
Lawmakers voted to expand ridesharing as part of the 2018 state budget deal passed on April 7, 2017. The law would have required 90 days to take effect, which would have left Western New York without ridesharing services during the Fourth of July weekend.
State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer introduced the expedited ridesharing bill in early May, saying, in a statement, that having legal ridesharing arrive after the Fourth of July would be "too little, too late."
The State Senate passed the expedited law on May 17, and the State Assembly passed it on May 23.
Uber New York Spokesperson Alix Anfang released the following statement in celebration of the Gov. Cuomo signing the law into effect:
“It’s official - our state leaders have delivered for New Yorkers and Uber is proud to announce we will launch ridesharing on June 29th - in time for July 4th weekend. Thank you to Governor Cuomo, the State Senate and the Assembly for bringing reliable, affordable transportation options to the Empire State. We can’t wait to bring Uber to upstate and the suburbs where residents have been demanding it.”
