ALBANY, N.Y. -- When lawmakers return next week for a final post-budget legislative push, the issue of bringing ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft north of New York City will likely come front and center.
"In my opinion, it's one of our highest priorities before the end of the session. If you think back to last year, it came up late in the session," said Assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes.
McDonald believes the present taxi businesses operating in upstate New York can co-exist with ride sharing services, but he says the taxi indsutry needs something of an upgrade.
"I don't look at ridesharing as the threat to the (taxi) industry that most people think it is. Most of the taxi business here is medical transport. That's what they do, 80 percent of it," McDonald said. "We're working on a parallel path with the taxi industry to Uber-ize them as well, bring them into the 21st century. It's the technology.
McDonald says he wants a regional solution to the taxi issue, such as having them hailed through an app and licensed under one multi-county authority.
"We need more transportation options in the Capital Region. What better way to do that than to approve ridesharing but also bring our taxi industry into the modern day period?" he asked.
Whether this brings the taxi industry along in the ridesharing debate remains to be seen. For ridesharing supporters in the Legislature, the move could provide more options to upstate residents.
"We realize from a hospitality perspective, from an economic development perspective, we need to have a good, sound system in place," McDonald said. "If we can beef up the taxi industry and if we can bring ridesharing in in a responsible fashion that addresses the inusrance issues, that addresses the vehicle inspections and the access for people with disabilities, I think we're doing a good thing for he public."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he's supportive of a ridesharing measure and potentially have a statewide regulatory system in place.