With continued success throughout New York City, Uber wants to extend its reach within the state.
The ride-hailing service is launching a push to spread into Long Island and Upstate New York cities, including Buffalo and Rochester, as reported by Bloomberg. Uber made that clear via a press conference in Albany on Tuesday, with the company's general manager, Josh Mohrer, saying that the ride-hailing service would create 13,000 jobs and spark $80 million in fares in one year if allowed in those areas.
As it currently stands, Buffalo is the only U.S. city with an NFL team where Uber isn't offered. In addition, customers on Long Island can currently use the service in Nassau County to and from New York City, but no other way. With Uber spreading on Long Island, customers would potentially be able to hail a car to and from destinations on Long Island, and its Suffolk County wouldn't be left in the dark.
In trying to convince New York legislatures to grant it access in more areas within the state, Uber will be going on a statewide tour, building support by flashing more job and revenue projections.
"Now is the time for the Empire State to embrace what most states have already embraced," Mohrer told Bloomberg during the conference, adding that upwards of 350,000 New York residents outside of New York City have already downloaded Uber's app onto their phones.
This past July, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he supports a statewide regulation system for Uber and Lyft.
It will be intriguing to see if Uber will be able to broaden its reach, and if so, how quickly.
