Like many other service-sector industries, rideshare companies such as Lyft and Uber are looking to pick up where pre-pandemic business left off, and part of that means continued expansion into downstate Illinois communities.

“Like every other business in the country, we’re working very hard to bring in employees,” said Robert Kellman, Uber’s manager of midwestern policy. “Demand for rides is actually outpacing the number of drivers who work on our platform.”