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From Uber New York:

Earlier this week Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Uber announced a joint effort to combat drunk driving on Thanksgiving Eve by offering free rides across Upstate New York, including Genesee County.

Tonight is Thanksgiving Eve, which has also been called “Blackout Wednesday,” because it's one of the busiest drinking nights of the year and the beginning of the holiday season, when there is an increase in instances of impaired driving.

All New York State residents outside of New York City and visitors can enter the promo code  SAFERIDENY19  into the Uber app by navigating to the menu, tapping Payment, and then Add Promo.

This will unlock a free ride up to $10 for people in Upstate New York (and elsewhere in the state outside of New York City) on Thanksgiving Eve. The free rides are available between 9 p.m. tonight (Nov.27) and 3 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28th.

“The holiday season is a special time for joy and togetherness, but it’s also one of the most dangerous times of the year on the road because of the increased frequency of drunk driving,” said Richard Mallow, executive director of MADD. “By providing a reliable ride at the push of a button — no matter the time or place — Uber is helping people make better, safer choices.”

“When empowered with access to more transportation options through Uber, people are making responsible choices that result in fewer alcohol-related crashes,” said Chad Dobbs, general manager, Uber New York. “By continuing to work with local leaders and MADD, we can help make New York’s streets safer. We hope that residents decide to leave their cars at home on Wednesday and use options like Uber to get around.”

An independent study conducted by Temple University found that Uber’s entrance into various cities in California resulted in a 5 percent decrease in the number of people killed in alcohol-related car crashes. Uber also surveyed its U.S. rider base, and respondents told us Uber has helped them make safe decisions to get home. 

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Uber is proud to be selected as the official Designated Driving App of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. To learn more about our partnership, visit our website.

Press release:

Uber today announced that Batavia native Rebecca Messina will join the company’s executive leadership team as global Chief Marketing Officer.

As Uber’s first-ever CMO, Messina will bring together Uber’s marketing teams around the world, building a global marketing organization that can support the company’s growth going forward.

“Rebecca brings deep experience in building global brands, and she’ll be a terrific leader for Uber’s marketing teams around the world,” said Barney Harford, Uber’s Chief Operating Officer. “We’re excited to learn from her as we work to make Uber one of the world’s most valuable brands, supported by cutting-edge marketing systems.”

“Joining Uber is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a true privilege. My focus has always been on three things: people, growth and brands,” Messina said. “Uber checks all three boxes: a rapidly growing global business, with the opportunity to build an iconic brand alongside a team that’s committed to transforming the future of mobility. I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Rebecca to Uber. She’s exactly the right leader to build our marketing efforts globally and to showcase the ways Uber is igniting opportunities for our customers around the world,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO. “Very few brands become verbs; for Uber to have achieved this shows how we’ve captured imaginations and become an important part of our customers’ lives. I’m excited to bring on Rebecca as a steward for our brand moving forward.”

Messina joins Uber from Beam Suntory, the world's third largest premium spirits company, where she has served as global Chief Marketing Officer since 2016. Prior to Beam Suntory, she spent 22 years at The Coca-Cola Company, where she most recently served as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Innovation for Ventures & Emerging Brands. Previously she served in a number of different marketing leadership roles across the company, both in the United States and internationally.

Messina currently serves on the boards of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the Ad Council, and has also served on the National Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association (AMA), the Georgia State Marketing Roundtable and the Atlanta Executive Board of the AMA.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio). The Batavia High School alumna speaks English, Spanish, Italian and French. She is married, with two children, and currently lives in Chicago.

The demand for ride sharing in Western New York, including Genesee County, is strong and has been growing for years, according to the two leading companies expected to provide service locally as soon as it's legal on June 29.

Representatives of both Uber and Lyft said they anticipate being able to provide service to Batavia and the rest of the county that day and they're getting ready to meet the demand.

Both companies are eager to be ready for a potential surge in demand around the July 4 holiday.

Ride-sharing services are a child of the mobile digital age, allowing private drivers to make themselves available to offer rides to people who hail them through a mobile app on a smartphone.

Both Uber and Lyft have become global companies with valuations in the billions of dollars and both companies compete fiercely for drivers and riders. It's been years since either company has been able to expand service in a U.S. market, such as Upstate New York.

Sen. Micheal Ranzenhofer sponsored a bill passed by NYS Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to make ride sharing legal Upstate in time for the July 4 weekend, after the Legislature had previously approved ride sharing this year.

The lobbying effort by Uber and Lyft included more than $2.6 million combined in campaign contributions. Details do not yet seem available on how much in campaign contributions Ranzenhofer might have received.

A spokesperson for Uber said the company has been eager to start service in Upstate because the demand for the service has been so strong. Certainly in Buffalo, but even in Genesee County, said Alix Anfang, adding that drivers have been signing up in numbers that give the company confidence they will be able to provide fast and reliable service.

"New York, Upstate New York, is one of the last places in the country to have access to ride sharing and people in the area have been demanding it for years," Anfang said. "The governor and the Legislature listened to their constituents and their desire for better transportation options and we're excited we will be able to offer the service."

While there are small cab companies in Batavia and a bus service, ride sharing helps enhance those services rather than compete against them, Anfang said.

"The reports show that more the ride sharing available, the more people use public transit," Anfang said. "The real competition for ride sharing is personal car ownership."

Oftentimes, Anfang said, ride sharing is a "last-mile solution" for people who would want to use public transit, but a bus doesn't get them close enough to their intended destination. Many ride sharing customers, she said, take a bus and then use ride sharing for that last mile.

"If you can get reliable ride sharing, you're more likely to leave your car at home," she said.

Bar and restaurant owners may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of ride sharing. It's smarter to hail a ride, and even plan ahead, with an app on a smartphone than it is to risk a DWI arrest, which is one reason Uber and Lyft were eager to get the service legal and up and running by July 4.

Uber isn't just successful in large cities, Anfang said. Throughout the country, Uber has found willing drivers and demand for services in rural areas as well.

"We want to be everywhere and serve every customer as soon as we possibly can and we're working to make sure we can be ready, especially with the July 4th holiday coming," Anfang said.

Campbell Matthews, representing Lyft, provided the following statement:

"We are excited to officially become a part of communities across New York State,” said Jaime Raczka, regional director of New Markets for Lyft.  “In every community in which ride sharing operates, it improves road safety, boosts local economies, and brings local families needed income.

"We thank the thousands of New York State residents who fought to bring these benefits to their neighborhoods and cities, and we look forward to becoming New Yorkers' ride-sharing platform of choice.”

UPDATE: Daniel Aikin, a spokesman for Micheal Ranzenhofer, said the senator hasn't take a dime in contributions from either Uber or Lyft. "His support for the expansion of ride-sharing across Western New York is a result of thousands of Upstate New Yorkers demanding access to this new, safe and reliable transportation option."