Smaller cities and towns in BC watching ride-hailing debate
Posted October 20, 2017 7:27 am.
Last Updated October 20, 2017 8:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The latest push to bring ride-hailing services to BC came from the Green Party in Victoria yesterday, and it’s not just cities in the Lower Mainland that are watching.
The promise of more transportation options might be welcome for anyone who’s ever tried to catch a late night cab in smaller communities like Penticton, Castlegar or Smithers — it certainly is for the acting mayor of a moderately larger, northern centre.
“We have a city that’s about the same population as Victoria but about 13 times the area so having a ride-hailing service would be beneficial under the right conditions,” says Garth Frizzell, acting mayor of Prince George, who points out the city has a rigorous system of ensuring public transportation drivers are accredited and at the wheel of safe vehicles.
While Prince George has taken no official position on whether or not companies like Uber or Lyft should be allowed in the city, Frizzell says they have discussed it informally, and they are looking into potential effects on employment and local transportation.
“We are both an urban core and we have rural features here and when you start looking over some of the results for drivers who have been doing this in rural settings, it doesn’t look that promising. Prince George is different from most cities so I think there’s more to look at with this than a simple yes or no,” he tells NEWS 1130.
Frizzell says he has heard, anecdotally, about potential resistance in the local taxi sector to Uber or Lyft coming to the community in the future, much as there has been in other cities, but there has been no formal discussion with the industry or debate at city hall.
“It hasn’t hit the council table yet, but we are all aware of what’s going on and some of us have used the services in other cities so it’s not going to be unexpected when it comes up at some point.”
The BC Green party made another run at bringing ride-hailing to the province yesterday. Green Leader Andrew Weaver introduced a private member’s bill for the third time that would pave the way for companies like Uber and Lyft.
The governing New Democrats and Opposition Liberals made campaign promises during last spring’s election to have ride-hailing in place by the end of the year.
The NDP says the impact on the taxi industry must be studied before introducing legislation next fall.
