Conversations That Matter: Why is B.C. dragging its heels on ride-hailing?
Credit to Author: Massey Padgham| Date: Fri, 09 Aug 2019 14:00:19 +0000
A ride-hailing advocate wonders why, if one of the objectives of the government is to reduce the number of cars on the road, the province is so reluctant to introduce ride-hailing?
Ian Tostenson, of Ridesharing Now for B.C., argues that if one ride-hailing vehicle can make 30 trips a day, it could take up to 20 cars off the road. Multiple that by hundreds of ride-hailing vehicles and the number of cars absent on the motorways becomes significant. Significant enough to make a dent in carbon emissions from automobiles.
The delay, he said, “is unbelievable politics that rests in the heart of Surrey because that’s primarily where the influence of the taxi industry is and both the parties (NDP and Liberal) have been very concerned especially since the last election where the NDP picked up some seats in Surrey.”
Recently the provincial government did relent, saying it would allow ride-hailing but with conditions that ride-hailing proponents say will slow down the implementation and severely restrict the number of drivers offering the service.
We invited Tostenson to join us for a Conversation That Matters about why British Columbia is dragging its feet and standing in the way of ride-hailing.
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