Mayors of Four Largest Upstate Cities Announce

Support for Statewide Ridesharing Legislation

In Open Letter, Mayors Brown, Miner, Warren and Sheehan Urge
Governor Cuomo To Enable Innovation and Economic Growth in NYS

Albany, New YorkThe mayors of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany jointly announced their
support for statewide ridesharing legislation today in an open letter first reported by City & State.

Their support comes as more New Yorkers than ever before mobilize in service of bringing ridesharing to
New York State, in partnership with the statewide group New Yorkers for Ridesharing.

New Yorkers for Ridesharing is a coalition of community organizations, businesses, civic organizations,
advocates, regular citizens and more calling for affordable, reliable, and safe transportation alternatives
for Central, Upstate and Western New York. Just over four months old, the coalition already has more
than 50 members, including the New York Business Council, Buffalo City Council and the Niagara
Tourism and Convention Corporationand it continues to grow. Its most recent additions include the
New York State Restaurant Association, the Rochester Business Alliance and Buffalo City Council.

The full text of the letter is as follows. A PDF version is available upon request.

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor of the State of New York
633 Third Avenue, New York City, NY
10017

Dear Governor Cuomo;

We want to commend you for recently identifying ridesharing platforms as a significant area of
interest for your administration. As the Mayors of the four largest upstate cities with limited
transportation alternatives, we write to urge you to support sensible legislation that would eliminate
the administrative and insurance barriers to peer-to-peer ridesharing across New York State.

Our cities are in dire need of additional transportation options that will foster economic development
by encouraging people to venture downtown for dinner or a night out with the peace of mind that
they can get a ride home reliably and safely. Peer-to-peer ridesharing would offer an innovative,
flexible, 21st Century solution to the transportation deserts many upstate municipalities face, while
also providing an opportunity for the State to set standards that would ensure public safety and
consumer protection.

In addition, our residents would greatly benefit from the flexible economic opportunities that come
with being a driver on a transportation network. Companies like Lyft and Uber offer
an innovative
platform on which people who wish to make extra money using their cars can give rides to people
who wish to get places within the city safely and conveniently. Drivers essentially get to be their own
boss, driving only when it suits their schedules and using their assets and knowledge of the area to
bring in extra income on their own terms. The vast majority of drivers on peer-to-peer ridesharing
platforms nationwide are either employed full time, retirees, or enrolled college students.
Ridesharing allows those drivers the opportunity to make additional income and be active in their
communities.

It is a known fact that consumers are embracing these innovative services as both an economic
opportunity and as a safe way to travel around our communities. Peer-to-peer ridesharing has also
been shown to reduce the number of cars on the road, thus alleviating traffic congestion, CO2
emissions, and drunk or impaired driving.
As you craft your priorities ahead of the 2016 Legislative Session, we urge you to stand with the
ridesharing community and support sensible legislative language that would bring peer-to-peer
ridesharing to Upstate New York.

Sincerely,
Mayor Byron W. Brown, City of Buffalo
Syracuse

Mayor Stephanie Miner, City of

Mayor Lovely Warren, City of Rochester

Albany

Mayor Kathy Sheehan, City of

CC: Counselor Alphonso David

About New Yorkers for Ridesharing

New Yorkers for Ridesharing is a coalition of community organizations, businesses, civic organizations,
advocates, regular citizens and more calling for affordable, reliable, and safe transportation alternatives
for Central, Upstate, and Western New York. The effort is sponsored by the Internet Association.

Tech-based ridesharing platforms can fill important gaps for residents where public transportation is
limited or unreliable and serve as a flexible source of income for cash-strapped New Yorkers. New
Yorkers for Ridesharing is calling on state legislators to allow these innovative services to operate in New
York State as they already do in hundreds of cities and towns across the country. The time for
ridesharing is now.