On the Road with the Uber Jobs Tour: Albany

Yesterday we returned to Albany to speak to locals about the potential economic opportunity that comes with partnering with Uber. We hosted the event at an area favorite, Wolfe’s Biergarten, where nearly 150 people came to learn about working on the platform and to ask questions.

DSCF1477 — *Locals learn about the opportunities that come with working with Uber at the festive Wolfe Biergarten*

We know that Albany residents are already demanding safe and reliable rides in the area. More than 1,200 people in Albany open the app every month looking for a ride.

Despite coming from different walks of life, each attendee was interested in earning extra money on their own time.

One woman, Anne, was eager to hear when our service would be active in the area so she could become a driver-partner to earn money as she finishes courses to apply to nursing school.

DSCF1492 — *Anne hopes to drive with Uber as she works toward applying to nursing school*

Anne has been interested in becoming a driver-partner since hearing about it from her friend, who is a single mom and drives with Uber in Charlotte, NC. She said that the flexible working schedule is ideal for people like her and her friend who have nontraditional schedules.

She also talked about how she thought our service is a great way to provide safe rides to people, especially young women.

“I think it’s a great way to help the planet and help each other.” — Anne, Albany resident

A recent survey released by the Benenson Strategy Group supported Anne’s sentiments. The survey reported that nearly half of driver-partners have children and many driver-partners are students. The survey also showed that at 29% of new partner signups, more women are starting to drive on our platform than ever before.

Based on our Albany Economic Impact Report, we project that in just one year we could create over 700 jobs in the Albany area.

If able to operate state-wide, we could potentially create more than 13,000 jobs for New Yorkers outside of New York City

So far, nearly 50,000 have signed the petition to allow our service to operate through regulated ride sharing statewide.