The Province of British Columbia needs to introduce new regulations that would clear the path for ridesharing services such as Uber as a way of dealing with Metro Vancouver’s congested streets and crowded transit.
This is the argument behind a Vancouver Board of Trade (VBOT) report released February 24, which said the city’s transportation situation is “desperate” and its infrastructure is being strained, which is putting the overall economy at risk.
“It’s becoming clear that our residents want more transportation options, and as a result, so do municipal governments across the region,” said VBOT president and CEO Iain Black.
“The time has come to modernize our provincial regulations, adapt to the changing world around us and embrace innovative new transportation options such as ridesharing.”
Also read: Uber CEO says Vancouver rules 'need to bend' for ridesharing services |
According to the report, in addition to establishing regulations that permit ridesharing and give residents access to safe and reliable options for transportation, the government should review taxi regulations and update them to allow cab companies to compete effectively against the new ridesharing service options.
Overall, the new rules should remove red tape for new services while promoting competition. VBOT also said ICBC needs to get involved and design insurance options for part-time and vehicle-for-hire ridesharing and taxi services.
Metro Vancouver is the biggest metropolitan area in North America that doesn’t permit services such as Uber, despite their growth and popularity across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Uber operated briefly in Vancouver in 2012; from May to November of that year, the service was available in the city until the Passenger Transportation Board told the company it needed to charge a minimum fare of $75 per hour.
VBOT points out that for Metro Vancouver’s 2.5 million residents, there are only 1,500 taxis available—the lowest per-capita ration of cabs-per-person in Canada. Taxi companies are subject to heavy regulations that make it difficult to change their services in any way, keeping them from responding to changing rider needs.
@EmmaHampelBIV
