Uber and Lyft get approval for ride hailing

British Columbia’s Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) has granted long-awaited licensing approvals to ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft for service in the Lower Mainland and Whistler.

A statement from the independent licensing tribunal says the next steps for the companies will be to secure vehicle insurance and to work with the municipalities in the approved operating areas to ensure bylaw compliance.

Representatives for Uber and Lyft say in statements that they are pleased with the approvals and will work with local jurisdictions to get their services operating as soon as possible.

The B.C. government promised to bring ride-hailing services to the province last year, but by December only one company had received approval to operate in the Tofino and Whistler areas.

Meantime, the board has rejected ride-hailing applications for two other companies planning to introduce service in areas outside the Lower Mainland such as the Okanagan.

“The Board has declined to approve the application of ReRyde Technologies Inc. to operate in Region 2: Capital Regional District (CRD); Region 3 – Vancouver Island, excluding CRD; and Region 4 – Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo and of Kater Technologies Inc. to operate in Region 1: Lower Mainland, Whistler; Region 2: Capital Regional District; Region 3 – Vancouver Island, excluding CRD; Region 4 – Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo; and Region 5 – BC North Central & Other Regions of BC,” said a news release from the PTB.

The board says the decisions were made after a careful review of the extensive materials received during the application process which included supporting information provided by the applicants and submissions from interested members of the public and stakeholders.

Copies of the decisions can be viewed in the PT Board Bulletin of January 23, 2020.

According to the PTB documents, the applications were turned down due to concerns about the business cases presented.

Vernon Monashee MLA Eric Foster says it leaves the service in doubt in the Okanagan and other areas as Uber and Lyft have said they don’t plan to offer services outside the Metro Vancouver area.

“Unless they (province/PTB) make some alterations in the regulations, Lyft and Uber won’t bother,” Foster told Vernon Matters. “If you’re in downtown Vancouver, you will be able to get ride hailing, and that’s great. But a lot of small communities that don’t have any taxi service, like Lumby and 100 Mile House and all kinds of small communities, they still won’t have any service.”

The transportation board says it has received 29 ride-hailing licence applications and has issued six decisions so far.