The province’s transportation minister has written a letter outlining concerns about how ride-hailing is being rolled out in B.C.
The letter is addressed to Passenger Transportation Board chair Catherine Read and cites what Transportation Minister Claire Trevena called “widespread concerns” about ride-hailing rules.
The board released its rules on ride-hailing earlier this summer, including Class 4 licensing, five zones in which companies can apply to operate and no caps on fleet size, although the latter was up for review.
Uber, Lyft and Alberta-based TappCar have all applied for a licence. Earlier this summer, Kater said it would launch in B.C.’s major cities.
Trevena noted that since on of the board’s principles was that “negative impacts on taxis should be minimized where possible,” she was asking that the lack of fleet size cap be review in a “timely way” to ensure the taxi industry didn’t experience “serious economic dislocation before a supply or cap decision occurs.”
Trevena also took issue with a potential spike in congestion on Metro Vancouver’s roads.
She said the region’s mayors had reached out to her with concerns.
“I trust the impact of increased congestion will be monitored closely by the board and will factor heavily into future decisions about fleet size.”
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