It’s something British Columbians have been asking for since 2012.
But as the province rolls out approvals for ride-hailing companies to operate across British Columbia, on Thursday, the province denied two more ride-hailing companies access to the Vancouver Island Market.
Leaving the second largest urban centre in BC, without.
ReRyde Technologies and Kater Technologies were denied by the Passenger Transportation Board to operate in the capital region.
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.
A total of 29 ride-hailing applications have been made to date. Of those, Uber and Lyft have been approved to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler.
The next step for those companies, having jumped over the first barrier, now is to get insurance and work with municipalities in their operating areas to ensure compliance with local by-laws.
But for those on the South Island, there may be hope.
The Board says they’re process of reviewing other pending applications and is working towards issuing further decisions on ride-hailing applications as quickly as possible.
“The review process is taking time because of the large number of applications that have been filed and the significant volume of materials involved,” said The Passenger Transportation Board in a release.
B.C.’s Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said approvals come down to a number of factors.
“Since September 2019, the Passenger Transportation Board has been reviewing applications from 29 ride-hail companies and submissions from stakeholders,” said Trevena.
“In the board’s decisions, it has committed to closely monitoring fleet sizes and minimum pricing to avoid potential impacts on traffic congestion and to ensure adequate incomes for drivers.”
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