To date, 11 companies have filed paperwork with the Passenger Transportation Board to operate ride sharing services in BC, including seven who plan to conduct business on Vancouver Island. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Alex Rawnsley

ON TRACK

Ride sharing applications exceed expectations, multiple Island options

Sep 20, 2019 | 9:43 AM

NANAIMO — The volume of ride sharing applications received has surprised the Passenger Transportation Board.

Eleven companies applied since Sept. 9 to operate in B.C., with seven including Vancouver Island as a desired service area.

Board chair Catharine Read told NanaimoNewsNOW they were concerned about the willingness for companies to venture outside Vancouver.

“At one point we were concerned we’d only get applications for the Lower Mainland, because that’s the most lucrative market. I’m very pleased to see the number of applicants we got, both local and Canadian applicants in addition to global companies like Uber and Lyft.”

To operate in BC, companies must complete an application package from the board’s website.Once its been viewed by appropriate departments, the application summary is posted online for public feedback.

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Read was unable to comment on concerns from the Vancouver Taxi Association about the lack of a cap on the number of ride sharing vehicles in B.C.

She did say the process of getting cars on the road is a slow one.

“First, a class 4 drivers license is required under the legislation and that will make it slower for companies to ramp up, they have to find those drivers. Secondly, we’ve studied the ramp up in other areas where ride sharing has operated,and in those cases it’s taken a couple of years to become significant.”

The Passenger Transportation Board will monitor car volume and usage levels over time, information that will influence decisions on future applications.

Read credits the work done in other jurisdictions for the smooth application process to date, enabling a high volume of companies to submit their bids in a short space of time.

“In other jurisdictions, there has been little or no hard data, or data was acquired late in the process. For us, we’ll have a head-start because we’re requiring companies to provide hard data from day one.”

That data includes operational projects and business plans.

Under the legislation, ride sharing services must set their pricing in line with taxi services when it comes to a flat rate to start. Rates in BC are typically between $3.00 and $3.50 for a flag rate. Nanaimo falls in the middle with a flat rate of $3.25.

“We have looked at the minimum taxi flat rate and that’s the minimum rate that ride sharing services can charge. They can charge above that, but they can’t use coupons or discounts to get below that fare.”

Barring any change of direction from the courts through their process with the Vancouver Taxi Association, BC could see ride share vehicles on the road before the end of 2019.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley