Consumer advocate suggests failure to approve ride hailing in B.C. risks public safety
Posted July 14, 2018 1:06 pm.
Last Updated July 14, 2018 1:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Drunk driving stats are now being used to pressure the B.C. government into approving ride hailing services this fall.
The North American Affairs Manager for the Consumer Choice Center, David Clement, says the use of companies like Uber and Lyft helped significantly reduce drunk driving in the United States.
“There are around 20,000 instances of impaired driving in the province of B.C. per year. That’s what it was in 2017. If the Premier had held to his promise of legalizing ride-sharing before the end of 2017, just in the six-month period so far in 2018, one thousand instances.”
Clement is basing his claim on research done at the Western Carolina university.
“For each additional month that ride-sharing is available, drunk driving reduces by 0.8 per cent, five per cent over the course of six months, nearly 10 per cent over the course of a year.”
He’s also suggesting ride hailing helps consumers save money.
“In a city like Toronto, savings per day is upwards of 200 thousand dollars a day.”
Green Party leader Andrew Weaver is expecting approval this fall, but nothing’s been confirmed by Transportation Minister Claire Trevena.
