After two failed attempts to operate in Upstate New York and Long Island, Uber (and other ridesharing services) finally got their way in June, but it came with a price -   at least for Uber. 

According to New York Upstate, the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics says Uber shelled out nearly $2 million in their bid to launch the ridesharing app.  The company spent $1.2 million in the first six months of 2017.

Despite repeated objections from taxi associations and insurance companies, the ridesharing apps went online in late June. The Upstate NY region was one of the last markets in the lower 48 to finally get access to Uber and their competitor, Lyft.

Most of their spending went to ad campaigns. The company put over $504, 000 into TV ads to bolster support for the ride-sharing bill.  .

In April, the state Legislature approved the ride-sharing measure and Governor Cuomo signed off on the bill, which is part of New York's 2017-2018 state budget. 

Both Uber and Lyft are much less expensive than the alternative - taxi's, that's why many New Yorkers, including people right here in CNY welcome the ridesharing services.

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