Five Things To Know About Uber In The Hudson Valley

Ride-sharing service Uber, previously confined to New York City, is now available in the Hudson Valley.

While longtime users are familiar with using Uber - it involves ordering rides from participating drivers with the company's smartphone app - the expansion brings questions for prospective customers and drivers. In order to help Hudson Valley residents understand Uber's impact, here are five things to know:

1. Uber provides "onboarding" locations, called Greenlight Spots, for new drivers. According to the company's website, the closest Greenlight Spot is in Yonkers, which is at Cross County Shopping, 7000 Mall Walk. The spot is open on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The next-closest Greenlight Spot is in the Bronx, with an address at the New Horizon Shopping Mall, 961 E. 174th St. The Bronx spot is open from Mondays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2. Uber provides a list of popular places to drive. Uber's website lists several destinations in southern Westchester, where it is presently more established. The locations are in Yonkers, Tarrytown, New Rochelle and White Plains.

3. Riders have a choice of four options for how to travel. Uber offers four ride-sharing tiers to its customers. The first is called Economy and is on the lower pricing end for individuals. The second is called Premium and involves riding in higher-end vehicles. The third is called Accessibility, which offers vehicles with accommodations for handicapped people. The fourth is called Carpool, which allows for multiple riders in one vehicle to split a collective fare.

4. Uber has already been operating in southern Westchester with a meal-delivery service. While the ride-sharing company's flagship product is new to the region, its meal-delivery subsidiary, called UberEATS, has already been operating in southern Westchester. Previous coverage on UberEATS can be found here.

5. Tipping drivers is now available. In an email press release, Uber announced on Thursday that Westchester residents can tip their drivers for both the ride-sharing product and for UberEATS. The tips rollout is part of a larger campaign from Uber called 180 Days of Change, in which new features for drivers will be added. Information on the new tipping system can be found here.

Photo: A screen shot of Uber's website, which shows an announcement of its expansion into Westchester.