Boot-dragging continues when it comes to legalizing ride hailing in BC

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – There’s still no guarantee ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft will be available in British Columbia by the end of this year, and would-be customers aren’t the only ones demanding access.

Premier John Horgan admits his government is under pressure to make the taxi industry more competitive, but he confirms no target date has been set.

“By 2018 Christmas? Well, I don’t want to preempt the Minister of Transportation, but we also have to make sure that we’re doing this in a way that doesn’t destroy the industry that exists today.”

He is again asking for patience as his government works to make good on a pre-election promise to allow ride hailing by the end of 2017.

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“I’m confident we’ll have announcements to make early in the fall and later in the fall on both improving the taxi industry and also looking at ride hailing into the future.”

Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman says she understands the NDP government needed some time to review the file inherited from the Liberals, but it should have been approved already.

“I’m confident that it can happen right now. I know that it is a new government — not that new now, but I don’t know why it’s taking so long,” she says.

“In Surrey, specifically, we don’t have a lot of transportation options, so I don’t know why it’s taking so long. I think the time really to implement it is now when people need it in the summer.”

Huberman adds it’s frustrating because ride hailing is available in many regions competing with BC for business investments.

“We brand ourselves to be an international region. People have to wait so long to get a taxi, it’s not appropriate in terms of our economic development strategies.”

Meanwhile, Horgan is raising concerns about who’s responsible if an Uber customer gets hurt in a crash.

“We have public auto insurance here in BC which makes us unique to other cities in the world, so we want to make sure that that level playing field exists.”

He admits he’s also worried about what might happen once there is more competition.

“We have to look at what the impact would be on the existing industry. There’s literally family businesses that are going to be adversely affected by the introduction of competition. That competition has to have the same training, the same level of background checks, the same insurance,” Horgan says.

Huberman insists cab companies are thriving in other places where ride hailing’s already available.

“Look for ways to ensure that people can get from point A to point B — to where they want to go wherever in the region. We really need to be flexible in the private sector.”

She adds she’s tired of hearing stories from cab users rejected by drivers or kicked out of taxis because their destination is deemed too far away.