Victoria’s only ride-sharing service looks to expand but needs drivers

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Andrew McNellis says he tries to make every ride “an experience” for Victoria’s only ride-share service.

“The reason that I love to drive is that I love people and I’ve met some spectacular people,” said McNellis.

The part-time driver has worked with Lucky to Go, a rideshare company, for more than a year now. It’s not his only gig. He and other employees of the company also work as limousine drivers.

Dealing with people from all walks of life, he says overall his experiences have been positive. But he’s heard his fair share of horror stories of passengers dealing with cab companies.

“I think that people have been asking for something a little bit different,” said McNellis.

But another problem that drivers are hearing is that there isn’t enough of them to go around — an issue that Lucky to Go is facing.

CEO Mandeep Rana began Lucky to Go in 2020 has seen success through the pandemic. The company — based out of Victoria — first operated in Kelowna, with 45 drivers in its fleet. Now it has 10 drivers on the Island, but Rana says he needs more drivers. He says that drivers earn 85 per cent of each ride cost, get flexible schedules and compensation for earning the appropriate license, yet can’t retain drivers.

“Whether it’d be ride-hailing, or trucking, or anything like that. That’s because, over the period of time,  during the pandemic, people have moved on to different jobs,” said Rana.

Other companies such as Lyft and Uber don’t operate on the Island. Last December, the Passenger Transportation Board denied Uber’s application to operate in Victoria. The PTB cited there was a lack of public need for ride-sharing, but Rana says different.

“When it’s peak times, there’s a shortage of cabs, then ride-hailing cabs would work and the drivers can actually serve the people,” said Rana.

Lucky to Go does much of the same as other ride-sharing apps but what it’s doing differently is providing other services like grocery delivery, food delivery, and even offering shuttle services to the airport and BC Ferries all in one app.

The CEO developed the app to combine all taxi companies into one, but he says it didn’t sit well with local cab companies, so he switched gears to fill a need.

“We had developed the before even ride-hailing was authorized,” said Rana.

Rana says if he’s able to get more drivers within the Greater Victoria Area, he’ll look to expand to Nanaimo and Vancouver.

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Oli HerreraOli Herrera

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