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For those coming to Vancouver....

I suppose it was inevitable, but ride hailing services were approved by the government and Passenger Transportation Board about two weeks ago, and Uber and Lyft are now operating in the greater Vancouver area (Vancouver and neighbouring cities). There are still some legal challenges before the Courts which were initiated by the Taxi industry, but it's not likely those will be successful.

As with most businesses in B.C., these will be highly regulated, taxed and each level of government will want a slice of the pie. Various municipal governments in that area are currently working on a regional business license, but the terms of that or the cost aren't known yet. Whether the ride hailing services will be profitable in this market remains to be seen.

Posted by
32171 posts

Agnes, good point! Both Uber and Lyft have been under performing to some extent since they went public. They'll need to get their act together as some other services are doing better. For example, this service was just approved to operate in the interior markets of Kelowna and Kamloops - https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/news/first-ride-hailing-service-approved-for-kamloops-1.24071245 . As noted in the article, the Kabu drivers will be treated better than the other services.....

"It will offer drivers a living wage, provide industry-leading driver health benefits reward system, such as subsidized health, dental and disability benefits and a $250,000 life insurance policy."

If I remember correctly, this particular service was "flying under the radar" for a few years before ride hailing was approved by the province, and were serving only the Chinese market. They were eventually caught and faced some hefty fines.

Posted by
2699 posts

Great news! As for Uber or Lyft being profitable, well, you can bet against this disruptive business, but I sure would not. It took Amazon nearly 7 years to turn a profit. Tesla, sort of off and on when it comes to profitability. I use Uber and Lyft all the time. To a person none of my drivers want to be employees. They want to work when they want to work. Most are supplementing their income, students doing this part time, or between jobs. Ride hailing has exploded in popularity. It will become profitable sooner or later.