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Ride hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft will be allowed in British Columbia by fall of 2019 after the provincial government introduced long-awaited legislation to modernize B.C.’s taxi industry. However, it’s still unclear when the first ride-hailing vehicles will hit the road.
“This is milestone legislation that gets ride-hailing right for B.C.,” said Transportation Minister Claire Trevena. “British Columbians absolutely want more options and flexibility in how they get around, but with checks in place to make sure their ride is a safe one.”
Ride-hailing companies will be able to submit applications to the Passenger Transportation Board in September 2019. It’s unclear how long it will take to process those applications.
If passed, the Passenger Transportation Amendment Act will enable the Insurance Corp. of B.C. to develop specific insurance programs for ride-hailing services. The act gives more power to the Passenger Transportation Board to set fares, make decisions on the number of licences and the boundaries in which taxis and ride-hailing vehicles operate, taking some of that power away from municipal governments.
The government hopes this will create a data-driven approach to improve ride-hailing and taxi services, especially at high-demand locations and at peak times.
The ministry said it will develop measures to make sure people are not left stranded when travelling from one municipality to another.
Ride-hailing and taxi drivers will be required to maintain a class 4 passenger licence and undergo mandatory criminal record checks. Drivers will also have to pay a per-trip fee to fund more accessibility options for people with disabilities, although the exact fee has not been set.
Taxi and ride-hailing companies that break the rules will face steeping fines of up to $50,000.
The NDP government has faced criticism for being slow to open the door to ride-hailing, which is well established in other parts of the country.
Premier John Horgan promised before the May 2017 election that services such as Uber and Lyft would be operating by the end of that year.
Instead, the government commissioned a report by Dan Hara, an industry expert who consulted with the taxi industry and in July, released his recommendations on a “made-in-B.C.” approach to ride-hailing.
In response to some of his recommendations, the province has promised to give the taxi industry more flexibility to compete with ride hailing companies. Taxi companies can now offer discounts for booking through an app and give customers the ability to pay through the app.
Victoria Taxi, Blue Bird and Yellow Cab all have apps customers can use to order taxis and track the driver’s progress, but passengers cannot pay through the app.
The province has also worked with the Passenger Transportation Board, which limits the number of taxis each company can operate and dictates the prices they must charge, to boost the number of taxis operating around B.C. by 15 per cent. The goal was to have 300 more cabs in the Lower Mainland and 200 more cabs in the rest of the province.
