A smart-phone app taxi service called Lyft has been in talks with local and state officials about bringing their form of transportation to Albany.I personally haven't heard of Lyft from what I know it is much like Uber. Its a service that allows everyday folk like you or me earn some extra loot while giving other everyday people rides for a good price. A little weary? I was too until I looked into it. You'll get a photo of who will be your driver along with their car so you know you're not going to be with a complete stranger. Here are some positives to this.

  1. It is almost always cheaper than a traditional taxi service                                               
  2. You can sit in a normal everyday driver not an old police car                                 
  3. Better shot of conversations with the driver, a normal taxi driver will see at least a dozen people a day.. most of which they may not conversate with..          
  4. Instead of calling and waiting for a ride, you can see the status of your driver and where they are.

So far Lyft is only in New York City,  where i'm sure it is massively successful. It was in Buffalo and Rochester last year. However due to insurance laws and regulations this was only for a short time. New York City has commercial drivers which apparently avoids this problem all together.

State officials didn't seem to be opposed to the idea when reps from Lyft met with them roughly two weeks ago. Mayor Sheehan's Chief of Staff Matthew Peter had said "Lyft is introducing themselves to cites". It is being looked into for Albany. Hopefully we can see this very popular service in cap city very soon.

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