The BC Passenger Transportation Board has approved Uber and Lyft to operate in the province’s Lower Mainland region and in Whistler.
The Lower Mainland is BC’s most populated area and encompasses Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
See also: B.C. transportation board grants first-ever ride-sharing license
Two other ride-sharing applications reviewed by the board for other parts of BC, including Vancouver Island, were declined.
ReRyde Technologies Inc applied to operate in the Capital Regional District (CRD), the rest of Vancouver Island, and the Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo area.
Another ride-hailing company, Kater Technologies Inc. applied to operate in the Lower Mainland, Whistler, CRD, Vancouver Island, Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo, BC North Central and other regions of BC.
Both ReRyde and Kater’s applications were turned down.
Background
The announcement regarding decisions on these four ride-sharing applications was made by the PTB on Thursday morning.
“The Registrar has been directed to issue licences to Uber Canada Inc. and Lyft Canada Inc.,” reads the statement.
“Next steps for the approved applicants after receiving licences from the Registrar are to secure appropriate motor vehicle insurance and to work with municipalities in their operating areas to ensure compliance with local by-laws.”
The PTB has received 29 ride-hailing applications to date and have thus far announced decisions on six of those applications.
They state that the long time taken for the review process is a result of the large number of applications and significant volume of materials involved.
The Board granted their first ever ride-hailing license to Green Coast Ventures Inc., operating under the trade name ‘Whistle’, on December 16th 2019.
Green Coast Ventures will focus on operations in Whistler and the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island outside of the Capital Regional District.
With files from Cormac O’Brien.
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