Upstate Residents Eager to Drive for Uber

Friday, January 20, 2017 | 0

Shortly after Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week proposed an expansion of ride-hailing services to upstate, tens of thousands of residents there told Uber they were interested in becoming paid drivers if the app becomes legal there.

Newyorkupstate.com reports that 10,000 residents just from Syracuse expressed interest in driving for the company.

They submitted photos of their driver’s licenses, registrations and proof of insurance to Uber for background checks.

Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services are not allowed to operate in upstate New York because of the way the state’s insurance laws are written.

Cuomo’s proposed legislation would make those services legal upstate but would force those companies to provide their drivers with workers’ compensation coverage.