UPSTATE

TRANSIT
LANDSCAPE
AND THE
NEED FOR
RIDESHARING

1
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 Overview
Too many cities in Upstate New
York are filled with transit deserts.
For millions of hardworking New Yorkers, the day begins and ends with long walks
to buses that are often crowded and unreliable. There is no question that Upstate
residents deserve better transportation options to get to and from work and
home. But access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation options is no-
where to be found.

Transportation deficiencies are holding back communities in Albany, Buffalo,

Rochester, and Syracuse from realizing their full economic potential. It comes as
no surprise, that while these cities are struggling to meet the challenges of a more
comprehensive transit system, they are also among the largest metropolitan areas
in the country that do not have access to ridesharing services like Uber.

While ridesharing is not new, potential partnerships with these cities can gener-
ate long elusive transportation solutions shaping how Upstate New York thinks
about and implements transit options in the future.

This report details the shortcomings of these cities current

transportation systems and how ridesharing can help fill the gaps to build
stronger communities through more reliable and robust transit options.

One thing is clear:

the current transit infrastructure in four
of New York States largest cities is insuf-
ficient to meet the social and economic
demands of todays economy, much
less the economy we need to build for
a more prosperous future for Upstate
New York. Since Uber has proven to be
a partner for many other cities in this
effort nationwide, this report further
highlights why its long overdue that our
state add ridesharing to the mix of tran-
sit options for Upstate residents.

2
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 Albany
New Yorks capital city is experiencing an
economic development revitalization thats
rapidly transforming downtown Albany into
a key destination for work and play.
However, Albanys public transit system and taxi op-
tions are insufficient to serve the influx of new resi-
dents and workers in the downtown area. Addition-
ally, the existing population of government workers
and residents in the citys suburbs are poorly served
by transit options that operate sporadically or are
not cost effective.
The following brief highlights the need for innova-
tive transit alternatives such as ridesharing, and the
benefits these alternatives could bring to the city of
Albany.
Transit Landscape
In addition to the current bustle of government
workers, including New Yorks elected officials
during the legislative season, Albanys downtown is
currently benefitting from numerous economic de-
velopment projects and an influx of new businesses.
This includes the revitalization of the Corning River-
front, business amenities like the new Capital Center
conference facility, numerous new world-class din-
ing options, the restoration of Proctors Theater, and
a burgeoning tech scene at the SCiTI and StartUp NY
innovation hubs.
Capitalize Albany, the citys economic development
agency, is also aggressively trumpeting the avail-
ability of residential units in up and coming areas
of downtown Albany, like the Warehouse District,
where there will be 3,000 available residential units
within the next ten years.
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
The new downtown Albany will be poorly served by
its current public transit system, which is operat-
ed by the Capital District Transit Authority (CDTA)
whose routes are limited and typically operate spo-
radically after 8pm. The young professionals Albany
hopes to attract to its new downtown residential
developments, many of whom are increasingly
eschewing car ownership, will require 24/7 transit
alternatives.
The same can be said for the influx of elected offi-
cials and their staff during the legislative session,
many of whom have relied on the citys infamous
taxi services whose inconsistent and expensive fares
and consistent mismanagement led Governor An-
drew Cuomo to sign a 2016 law placing the citys taxi
regulation in the hands of the CDTA.
Outside of the city center, Albany includes 21 square
miles of suburban neighborhoods. CDTA service
generally only runs between 7am and 7pm on week-
days, leaving many commuters with few options for
transit if they are working late. According to Ameri-
can Community Survey (ACS) data from 2014, 14.4%
of Albany workers did not have a vehicle available
to transport them to work. 48.1% of these workers
took public transit, while 24.6% walked and 4.1%
took a taxicab, motorcycle, bicycle, or other means.
Additionally there are currently more than 20,000
low-income families in the Capital Region (Albany,
Schenectady, and Troy) that do not own cars.
Many of these Albany neighborhoods are transit
deserts due to bus routes that require commuters
to walk numerous blocks to access transit. Using
publicly available GTFS data from CDTA, corroborat-
ed by granular population data from the 2010 U.S.
Census, we identified examples of Albany popula-
tions underserved by public transit.
3
 One of the neighborhoods with sparse public tran-
sit options is Dunes, near the Crossgates Mall.
The Census Block containing Dunes has a
population of 2,227.

Please note for all of the maps in the following report, each public transport stop is represented by
a small colored dot.

Many of the bus routes setting out from
Crossgates Mall, or another point near
Dunes, and going to downtown Albany
only operate a few times each day, with
a few departures in the morning and a
few in the late afternoon/evening.1 This
leaves swaths of midday and the late
evening where the area is not served by
buses to downtown.
The exceptions are Route 12 (which
operates frequently, but is on hiatus
between 9 AM and 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM
and 5:00 PM, and 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM
every weekday)2 and Route 114, which
only runs once per hour.3 However,
these routes run from Crossgates Mall,
which is almost an hour-long walk from
some parts of Dunes.

1 These routes include #719 (http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route719.pdf), #763 (http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/

files/source_files/Route763.pdf), & #801 (http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route801.pdf)
2 http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route12.pdf
3 http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route114.pdf

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UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 The residential neighborhood south of Western Avenue and west of NY-85 is comprised of Census
Block Groups with a total population of 3,816. This area, like Dunes, has sparse public transit options:
Along Western Avenue run the #763 and #10 buses.
The #763 only has three departures to downtown
Albany in the morning and three in the early after-
noon.4 The #10 runs frequently, but takes a three-
hour hiatus between 1 PM and 4 PM on weekdays.5
Furthermore, some parts of this neighborhood are
more than a 15-minute walk away from the #10 at
Western Avenue. The #734 runs along Krumkill Road
in the southern portion of this neighborhood, but
only makes four downtown-bound departures each
day.6
Additional strains are placed on commuters in
Albany, where winters and summers can be severe.
Albany experiences an average of 60 inches of snow
in the winter months. And the city often experiences
waves of heat and humidity in summer months that
push temperatures above 90 degrees.
4 http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route763.pdf
5 http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route10.pdf
6 http://www.cdta.org/sites/default/files/source_files/Route734.pdf
7 https://newsroom.uber.com/us-new-jersey/working-together-for-a-better-summit/
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
The Added Value of
Uber in Albany
To keep Albany a growing and vibrant city, Albany
needs to improve its transit landscape by providing
more transportation options. The cab system is par-
ticularly deficient, which is most evident at the drop-
off/pick up location at Albanys Amtrak train station.
Uber has the on-demand capabilities and manpower
required to make the transit options better at Am-
traks Albany-Rensselaer station.
Like the company successfully did in Summit, NJ7,
Uber could partner with the city to provide free or
discounted rides for local commuters to the train
station. This ridesharing commuter program greatly
reduced congestion in parking lots and eliminated
the need for building additional parking structures
in that city. If implemented here in Albany, it could
save Albany residents millions in potential taxpayer
dollars.
5
 At the Amtrak station, finding a cab or a parking
space is almost impossible. As an alternative trans-
While ridesharing is not
portation option, through a partnership with a city, new, the potential partner-
Uber could provide discounted uberX rides to and
from the Amtrak station reducing the number of ship and commuter pro-
commuter cars left in the parking lot and providing
an easy option for local commuters.
gram could use ridesharing
Exploring alternative methods of getting residents technology as a transpor-
to and from the train station without having to park
is a great way to keep Albany thriving while reducing
tation solution shaping
costs. how Albany thinks about,
and implements, tran-
sit options at the Amtrak
station in the future.

6
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 Buffalo
Buffalo is undergoing unprecedented
growth, with over $5.5 billion in new eco-
nomic activity underway, the vast majority
of which is occurring in its up and coming
downtown.
The second largest city in the state is also host to
one of New Yorks largest universities and is home
to two professional sports teams; the Buffalo Bills of
the National Football League and the Buffalo Sabres
of the National Hockey League. That said, Buffa-
los residents are underserved by the citys transit
options. While the citys public transit system is one
of the better systems in Upstate New York, there re-
main large areas of Buffalo that are transit deserts,
and the city is currently the only NFL market where
residents cannot take advantage of ridesharing ser-
vices such as Uber.
The following brief highlights the need for innova-
tive transit alternatives such as ridesharing and the
benefits that these alternatives could bring to the
city of Buffalo.
Transit Landscape
Buffalo is currently experiencing a transformational
period of economic development that has seen its
workforce increase from 87,000 to over 99,000 work-
ers over the last three years.8
The key catalyst to Buffalos resurgence is its Buffalo
Niagara Medical Campus, which is one of the five
Strategic Investment Areas of the overall Queen City
Hub economic development plan in Buffalo. Another
Strategic Investment Area is the Erie Canal Harbor
and Waterfront District, including the Canalside his-
toric redevelopment district.
8 http://www.buffalourbandevelopment.com/documents/Downtown/2016_Downtown_Buffalo_Development_Guide.pdf
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
Additionally, new job-creating projects include the
Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at
RiverBend and the SolarCity Gigafactory. To accom-
modate this burgeoning workforce, Buffalo has seen
the development of over 1,200 residential units in its
downtown over the past ten years, with 2,000 more
units on the way by 2018.
Residents of new downtown Buffalo will be poorly
served by its current public transit system, which is
operated by the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority
(NFTA) whose routes are limited and typically oper-
ate sporadically after 8pm. The young professionals
Buffalo hopes to attract to its revitalized downtown,
many of whom are increasingly eschewing car own-
ership, will require 24/7 transit alternatives.
Outside of the citys downtown district, many of
Buffalos residents live in suburbs spread out over
52 square miles. According to American Commu-
nity Survey (ACS) data from 2014, 13.9% of Buffalo
workers did not have a vehicle available to transport
them to work. 48.2% of these workers took public
transit, while 19.2% walked and 5.7% took a taxicab,
motorcycle, bicycle, or other means. Additionally
there are currently more than 38,000 low-income
families in Buffalo and Niagara Falls that do not own
cars.
Many of these Buffalo neighborhoods are transit
deserts due to bus routes that require commuters
to walk multiple city blocks to access transit. Using
publicly available GTFS data from NFTA, corroborat-
ed by granular population data from the 2010 U.S.
Census, we identified examples of Buffalo popula-
tions underserved by public transit.
7
 There are two neighborhoods South Buffalo and Broadway-Fillmore that lack sufficient public
transit options, in partciular. Below is a map displaying bus stops in Broadway-Fillmore:

The Census Block Groups bounded by Sycamore
Street to the north, William Street to the south, Bai-
ley Avenue to the east, and Fillmore Avenue to west
have a combined population of 8,194.
For residents living between Broadway and William
Street, near the Buffalo Central terminal, the closest
bus lines to and from downtown would be the #4
along Broadway and the #1 along William Street.
The walking distance from a house located at, for
example, 83 Hilton Street (adjacent to the Buffalo
Central Terminal) to the nearest bus stop on Broad-
way is approximately 8 minutes. After 8 PM on
weekdays, bus service on the #4 along Broadway is
sporadic, with buses timed one hour apart.9 Like-
wise, bus service from Downtown on the #1 along
William Street can also be as far apart as an hour on
weekdays.10 The same holds for bus service on the
#6 along Sycamore Street.11

9. http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/pdfs/4.pdf
10. http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/pdfs/1.pdf
11. http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/pdfs/6.pdf

8
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 The situation is perhaps even more exacerbated in the relatively suburban neighborhoods
of South Buffalo:

The combined population of Census Block Groups
south of Abbot Road and along the two main bus
routes pictured above is 20,201 (of the three that
appear to fork out, above, only the two outer ones
are actual bus routes). These two routes are the #16
along South Park Avenue and the #14 along Abbot
Road. After 6 PM on weekdays, the #14 buses are
spaced an hour apart, and as much as an hour and
a half apart on weekends.12 The same is true for the
#16 after 7 PM on weekdays and on weekends.13
Additional strains are placed on commuters in these
neighborhoods during the winter months, when
average temperatures plummet to 18.5 degrees in
January and the city records an average monthly
snowfall of 21 inches, with an average of 13 snowy
days per winter month.
Lastly, Buffalo transit limitations fail to provide a
critical safety net for a large population of working
families and college students. Erie County experi-
ences approximately 16.2 DWI deaths per year.14
And in an effort to curb DWI arrests, Buffalo is now
participating in the Drink and Drive, Lose your Ride
campaign that confiscates the vehicles of individuals
who experience their second DWI arrest.15 Alterna-
tive transit solutions offering late night rides would
certainly be one solution to this problem, curbing
DWI fatalities and eliminating the threat of individu-
als losing their vehicles.

12. http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/pdfs/14.pdf
13. http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/pdfs/16.pdf
14. http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/new_york_state_dwi_deaths_by_county_who_has_the_most_fatalities.html
15. http://www.twcnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2016/08/29/drink-and-drive--lose-your-ride-campaign.html

9
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 The Added Value of If a program like this one were to
come to Buffalo, residents who are
Uber in Buffalo currently underserved by Buffalos
Given the recent flurry of economic development
transit options would have better ac-
and influx of thousands of new Buffalo workers,
transit deserts could prove extremely costly for the cess to and from their jobs. With the
continued prosperity of Buffalo. Buffalo has seen
significant job-creation some of Buf-
a building boom that has led to an unprecedent-
ed growth in its workforce with construction and falos great projects are bringing to
permanent new jobs, yet the public transit system is the city, we must ensure our transit
extremely limited and insufficient for sustaining this
new group of commuters. Uber has the potential to options work for all residents, provid-
have a great impact on Buffalos transit landscape, ing safe and reliable means for com-
surmounting transit barriers with technology and
muting to and from their jobs. Ubers
innovation to step in where public transportation
has failed ridesharing platform, and on-demand
One example of an innovative program Uber technology could bring Buffalo into
launched in St. Petersburg, Florida, was called the the future of transportation.
TD Late Shift program16, which offered free trans-
portation to disadvantaged residents in a Florida
county when regular bus service ended at night.
These residents were able to receive free, on-de-
mand rides to and from a place of employment or
residence only. This grant-funded program was able
to help residents overcome transportation barriers
to employment.

16. http://www.psta.net/press/07-2016/index.php
10
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 Rochester
Over the past ten years, Rochester has
seen businesses coming back to its down-
town area. And while downtown Rochester
is currently home to over 50,000 workers
employed by its burgeoning business en-
vironment, only 3,000 of the citys 210,000
residents live downtown, meaning a large
amount of workers face long commutes to
and from work.
Unfortunately, Rochesters public transit system is
strained and does not have the funding to address
critical needs, such as increasing service so that the
citys working women and men who rely on public
transportation can have easier and more affordable
commutes.
The following brief highlights the need for innova-
tive transit alternatives such as ridesharing and the
benefits these alternatives could bring to the city of
Rochester.
Transit Landscape
Rochester features a workforce that is highly depen-
dent on owning vehicles. Although nearly ninety per-
cent of Rochesters working women and men own
vehicles, there remains a large population of work-
ers who are currently underserved by the regions
public transit system.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $40 million in
funding for this $64 million upgrade project, which
has an aggressive timeline of two years for comple-
tion. RTS currently only offers one bus line to the
airport, the 6/6X Jefferson.
During nights and weekends, this bus runs only
once per hour and it does not drop passengers off
at the airport terminal, instead dropping them off
outside of the airport and requiring them to walk
onto the airport grounds.
According to American Community Survey (ACS)
data from 2014, 11.7% of Rochester workers did not
have a vehicle available to transport them to work.
39.3% of these workers took public transit, while
14.6% walked and 4.4% took a taxicab, motorcy-
cle, bicycle, or other means. Additionally there are
currently more than 20,000 low-income families in
Rochester that do not own cars.
Many of Rochesters neighborhoods are transit
deserts due to bus routes that require commuters
to walk great distances to access transit. Using pub-
licly available GTFS data from RTS, corroborated by
granular population data from the 2010 U.S. Census,
we identified examples of Rochester populations
underserved by public transit.

Rochesters public transit is operated by the Roch-

ester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority
(RGRTA) via its Regional Transit Service (RTS) subsid-
iary, whose routes are limited and typically operate
infrequently on nights and weekends. Many working
Rochesterians also face long walks to bus stops,
which can be incredibly treacherous during winter
months, when snow and frigid temperatures occur.

One of the key new economic development projects

in Rochester is the revitalization of the Greater Roch-
ester International Airport.

11
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 Rochesters 19th Ward and Charlotte neighborhoods both appear to be particularly
underserved by bus service.

As the above map shows, a large portion of Roches-
ters 19th Ward is bound by a single bus route, which
wraps it in a squared shape (except on the east side).
The Census Block Groups within this square have a
combined population of 8,161. This is the 25/25X
Thurston/MCC route, and its stops on weekday
afternoons can be spaced almost 45 minutes apart.
Of concern is that this route does not operate past
8 PM either. On weekends, service can be spaced as
far apart as one and a half hours.17
Another bus route, the 4/4X Genesee routepasses
by the eastern side of the square, but its stops are
spaced an hour apart after 7 PM on weekdays, and
an hour apart on weekends.18 The same holds for
the 6/6X Jefferson19 and 19 Plymouth20 routes,
which pass by the southeas tern corner of the
square.
Charlotte, a neighborhood on the northern end of
Rochester, is also sparsely covered by public transit:

17 http://www.myrts.com/Portals/0/Schedules/Sept%202016/43002_RTS_25_Thurston_MCC.pdf
18 http://www.myrts.com/Portals/0/Schedules/Sept%202016/43002_RTS_04_Genesee.pdf
19 http://www.myrts.com/Portals/0/Schedules/Sept%202016/43002_RTS_06_Jefferson.pdf
20 http://www.myrts.com/Portals/0/Schedules/Sept%202016/43002_RTS_19_SPlymouth.pdf 12
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 The Census Block Groups contained in what could
broadly be considered the Charlotte neighborhood
have a total population of 8,491. The main bus route
in Charlotte is the 1/1X Lake along Lake Avenue.
On weekdays, service is spaced and hour and fifteen
minutes apart after 8 PM, and up to an hour apart
on weekends.21
Transportation costs and better transportation op-
tions have been cited as a necessary improvement
for retaining talent from Rochesters colleges and
universities. The arduous process of taking public
transportation has also been described as a top
challenge for the growing refugee community when
assimilating and building new lives in Rochester. In
a 2016 interview with the Rochester Democrat and
Chronicle, the Aziz family, refugees relocated from
Syria, said their first year in Rochester was the most
difficult of their lives.
In an interview, they cite the hours-long affair of
getting around on public transportation as a top
challenge in adapting to their new city. To go to
the market or their English classes would require
multiplebuses. We were hoping to go to school
for English as quickly as possible, Bahzat Aziz said.
(But) we learn about 10 words, then because its so
tiring with the buses, we just forget.22
Lastly, Rochesters transit limitations fail to provide
a critical safety net for a large population of working
families and college students. Monroe County ex-
periences approximately 14 DWI deaths per year.23
Alternative transit solutions offering late night rides
would certainly be one solution to this problem.
21 http://www.myrts.com/Portals/0/Schedules/Sept%202016/43002_RTS_01_Lake.pdf
22 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/08/19/syrian-refugees-rochester-aziz/88566656/
23 http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/new_york_state_dwi_deaths_by_county_who_has_the_most_fatalities.html
24 https://newsroom.uber.com/us-florida/uber-announces-partnership-to-increase-transportation-access-in-tampa-bay/
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
The Added Value of
Uber in Rochester
Uber has the potential to fill the void in Rochesters
transit deserts. In neighborhoods, like the 19th Ward
thats bound by a single bus route, RTS and Uber
create a first mile, last mile partnership, which has
been done in other cities, that increases transporta-
tion access and ridership across the region.
This is especially valuable for working Rochesterians
who are subjected to arduous walks to and from bus
stops during the winter months.
A similar partnership has already been enacted with
Tampa Bays Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
(PSTA)24. Just like Rochester, Tampa Bays PSTA strug-
gled with a lack of connecting bus routes, but Uber
became that connecting force for them. Riders are
able to use Uber, at a discounted cost thanks to PS-
TAs contribution, to travel within specific geographic
zones to or from a series of designated stops.
This would not only make commuting
easier for Rochester residents, but it
would improve ridership among RTS.
Once it is easier for a commuter to
get to and from the bus stop, the bus
becomes the main mode of transpor-
tation, which could help pull RTS out
of its financial strain with increased
ridership.
13
 Syracuse
Syracuse is a dynamic city that features one
of New Yorks largest universities and a bur-
geoning downtown community.
However, it is poorly served by a public transit
system whose buses operate sporadically at night
and strands suburban commuters in transit deserts.
The following brief highlights the need for innova-
tive transit alternatives such as ridesharing and the
benefits these alternatives could bring to the city of
Syracuse.
Transit Landscape
Syracuse is in the midst of a downtown renaissance,
buoyed by the newly renovated Marriott Syracuse
Downtown serving as the primary hotel for the
Onondaga County Convention Center, the rise of the
tech sector occurring in innovation hubs like the Syr-
acuse Technology Garden, the emergence of ame-
nities such as the Onondaga Creekwalk and annual
AmeriCU Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival, the new
Connective Corridor connecting Syracuse University
to downtown Syracuse, the recently completed Cen-
tro Transit Hub, and the rapid growth of a residential
community.
The new downtown Syracuse will be poorly served
by its current public transit system, which is operat-
ed by the Central New York Regional Transportation
Authority (Centro),
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
whose routes are limited and typically operate spo-
radically after 8pm.
The young professionals Syracuse hopes to attract
to its revitalized downtown, many of whom are
increasingly eschewing car ownership, will require
24/7 transit alternatives.
Outside of the city center, Syracuse includes 26
square miles of suburban neighborhoods. Accord-
ing to American Community Survey (ACS) data from
2014, 13.7% of Syracuse workers, many of whom
live in these suburban neighborhoods, did not have
a vehicle available to transport them to work. 34.3%
of these workers took public transit, while 23.8%
walked and 10.6% took a taxicab, motorcycle, bicy-
cle, or other means. Additionally there are currently
more than 20,000 low-income families in Syracuse
that do not own cars.
Many of these Syracuse neighborhoods are transit
deserts due to bus routes that require commuters to
walk multiple city blocks to access transit. Using pub-
licly available GTFS data from Centro, corroborated
by granular population data from the 2010 U.S. Cen-
sus, we identified examples of Syracuse populations
underserved by public transit.
For example, Syracuses South Valley is a neighbor-
hood that lacks substantial public transit options.
The dark red swaths of the following map ringed by
distant bus stops allow one to visualize the transit
problems posed to residents of South Valley:
14
 The total population of the three Census Block
Groups in South Valley is 3,706. The area is main-
ly served by the #410/410X bus route, which runs
along South Salina Street. Post 8 PM, service can be
more than an hour apart.25 The nearby #254 does
not run past 7:30 PM.26 Similarly, the nearby #510
does not run past 6 PM.27
Additional strains are placed on commuters in these
neighborhoods during the winter months, when
average temperatures plummet to 31 degrees and
the city records an average annual snowfall of 115
inches, the most annual average snow of any metro-
politan area in the U.S.
Syracuse commuters have also been living under
the constant threat of Centro service cuts. Centro
faced an operational deficit of $5 million in 2015 and
faced service cuts after the U.S. House nearly passed
a highway bill that would have cut $12 million in
Centro funding.
Syracuse also has one of the highest poverty rates in
the nation. According to U.S. Census date, thirty-one
percent of Syracuse residents or 40,500 residents
were living below the poverty line in 2015.
The Added Value of
Uber in Syracuse
Uber has proven success in filling the void of transit
limitations for college students across the country.
Uber could partner with Syracuse-based universities
and colleges, like Syracuse University, to provide
discounted rides to college students looking to fill
the gap between transit and commercial hubs, and
the campus.
Uber has already provided this sort of service to oth-
er regions with similar voids across the country.
North Shore Community College in Danvers, MA30
was in the midst of transit crisis before a partnership
with Uber pulled them out of it. Because the closest
bus stop was four miles from the campus, middle
and low-income students who took public transpor-
tation to class found themselves dropping out be-
cause it was too difficult to get to school. The college
partnered with Uber to offer extremely discounted
rides to and from campus and major transit hubs,
including a shopping mall five miles away.

Cuts to Centro service that have been proposed
in the recent past, such as ending unlimited ride
monthly cards, would hit these communities hard
and leave many without an affordable means to get
to work.
Partnerships like this have been lifesavers for stu-
dents and educators, bridging a gap that was getting
in the way of education and that is precisely the
value that Uber can bring to Syracuse, which has one
of the highest poverty rates in the nation.

Lastly, Syracuses transit limitations fail to provide a
critical safety net for a large population of working
families and college students. Onondaga County
experiences approximately 1,300 DWI arrests28 and
12.2 DWI deaths per year.29
Alternative transit solutions offering late night rides
would certainly be one solution to this problem.
In addition to providing access to campuses to en-
sure that students are able to stay in school and fur-
ther their education, having Uber in Syracuse could
mean additional partnerships with local universities
and colleges so that students have a discounted and
safe transportation option over late-night weekend
hours.

25 http://www.centro.org/docs/default-source/schedule-documents/syracuse-schedules/sy-10-s-salina.pdf?sfvrsn=2
26 http://www.centro.org/docs/default-source/schedule-documents/syracuse-schedules/sy-54-midland.pdf?sfvrsn=2
27 http://www.centro.org/docs/default-source/schedule-documents/syracuse-schedules/sy-510-tully.pdf?sfvrsn=2
28 http://www.twcnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2015/11/20/32nd-annual-lights-on-caravan-saturday.html
29 http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/new_york_state_dwi_deaths_by_county_who_has_the_most_fatalities.html
30 http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/06/499601212/out-of-options-this-school-got-uber-to-pick-up-its-students
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UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
 The University of South Carolina partnered with
Uber31 to provide rides to students at a 25%
discount during the specified weekend late-night
hours (Thursdays through Saturdays between 10
PM and 3 AM).
31 https://newsroom.uber.com/us-south-carolina/usc-safe-rides/
UPSTATE TRANSIT LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR RIDESHARING
The need for this in Syracuse college
students is especially apparent right
now, as Syracuses downtown area
is bustling more than ever, and On-
ondaga County is plagued with high
DWI arrests and deaths.
Uber has the potential to bring an
unparalleled value to Syracuse.
16