A ride-hailing company is getting ready to launch in Victoria to provide passengers with another option for transportation in the city.
Uride was approved to operate in all regions of the province except for Metro Vancouver in January 2021, and the company has already started its services in Kelowna and Kamloops.
The ride-hailing company aims to launch in Victoria in the fall.
Cody Ruberto, founder and CEO of Uride, says the goal is to provide people with more transportation options.
“I have a lot of friends that have gone to Victoria, a lot of people I know that are living there. And I know that the taxi situation, people need more options,” Ruberto said in an interview with CHEK News. “It’s a major issue that we want to come and help fix.”
While he doesn’t know yet if the service will just be launching in the City of Victoria or the whole region, he says the goal is to expand across Greater Victoria over time.
“Often when we launch a market we will launch in the core and then expand out over the next few weeks after launch,” Ruberto said. “It’s going to be our team, they’re going to decide that a little bit closer to the launch, depending on the number of drivers that are on the road. ”
In an effort to attract drivers, Uride is offering to pay for the costs to get their Class 4 licence, vehicle safeties and background checks.
“Our priority at this stage is to do everything we can to reduce the time it takes to get a Class 4 Licence,” said Skye Volpi, Chief Operating Officer of Uride. “This has been our main challenge during our British Columbia expansion. In some cities, we’ve received reports of 6-8 week delays for road tests, which needs to be addressed.”
READ MORE: Victoria’s only ride-sharing service looks to expand but needs drivers
Laura Brougham
