Ride-hailing in Metro Vancouver: Uber, Lyft, Sidecar - emerging technologies

[Cypherus]

So by agreeing to a regional license, Mr. Magoo appears to have taken a lesser stance when faced with legal issues from Uber and pressure from John Horgan to back down. At least he can tell the Taxi Cartel that "he tried".

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

but forcing ride hailing to have wheelchair vehicles is untenable as well. since it is based on using your own personal vehicle, forcing that onto them is not what the service is about.

I think there's a valid argument to be made for an accessible vehicle requirement. Sure, you have to use your own vehicle, but in order to meet civic goals of accessibility it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to require the ride hailing companies to incentivize drivers to buy and drive accessible vehicles. Incentives can be adjusted as needed until a mandated percentage of vehicles are accessible. After all, we require private developers to adhere to accessibility requirements via building codes, and transportation is certainly a critical piece of the accessibility landscape.

Accessibility of infrastructure seems like a waste until you need it, and then suddenly it becomes very, very important.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

I think there's a valid argument to be made for an accessible vehicle requirement. Sure, you have to use your own vehicle, but in order to meet civic goals of accessibility it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to require the ride hailing companies to incentivize drivers to buy and drive accessible vehicles. Incentives can be adjusted as needed until a mandated percentage of vehicles are accessible. After all, we require private developers to adhere to accessibility requirements via building codes, and transportation is certainly a critical piece of the accessibility landscape.

Accessibility of infrastructure seems like a waste until you need it, and then suddenly it becomes very, very important.

Yep the PTB could have easily forced some minimum requirements for accessible rides to any ride hailing company, and monitor compliance.

Uber/Lyft/etc would be free to develop their own incentives as to how those requirements get met (Free market!).

Ride hailing has been shown to increase vehicle miles driven and congestion too, I would have liked to see them require certain levels of fuel economy, hybrids, EVs, etc.

Instead, we get a silly Class 4 requirement.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Yep the PTB could have easily forced some minimum requirements for accessible rides to any ride hailing company, and monitor compliance.

Uber/Lyft/etc would be free to develop their own incentives as to how those requirements get met (Free market!).

Ride hailing has been shown to increase vehicle miles driven and congestion too, I would have liked to see them require certain levels of fuel economy, hybrids, EVs, etc.

Instead, we get a silly Class 4 requirement.

Even a Class 4 licence doesn't mean you understand what a bike lane is. [source]

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Even a Class 4 licence doesn't mean you understand what a bike lane is. [source]

Saw that, but interesting to see the point about pickups for disabled people. They could potentially need that curbside pickup. It's a failure in bike lane design too.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

So by agreeing to a regional license, Mr. Magoo appears to have taken a lesser stance when faced with legal issues from Uber and pressure from John Horgan to back down. At least he can tell the Taxi Cartel that "he tried".

I think that was the point this whole time.

Something tells me that the Taxi Cartel probably donated generously to McCallum's campaign.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by scryer

I think that was the point this whole time.

Something tells me that the Taxi Cartel probably donated generously to McCallum's campaign.

McCallum is just an idiot, not sure he needs a reason to be a tool on ride hailing. How's his Grand Canals of Whalley project coming along?

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by whatnext

McCallum is just an idiot, not sure he needs a reason to be a tool on ride hailing. How's his Grand Canals of Whalley project coming along?

This is also a very public issue. Why would he be willing to take so much heat when it is easier to skate under the radar in municipal politics? The taxi lobby surely can't represent the majority of public opinion in Surrey.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

The taxi lobby surely can't represent the majority of public opinion in Surrey.

Can I be the one to point out the stereotyping elephant in the room?

[casper]

Uber has to get more drivers on the system.

This afternoon I tried to catch a Uber from Collingwood area to the airport. It would should 10-15 minutes wait and then time up because no driver was available and accepting the ride. Needed to try to book the trip about 3-4 times before I ended up getting a driver. They need more drivers immediately.

Almost ready to drive out to the airport and pay for parking. No way was I going to feed money into the taxi industry the way it has been handling this.

The driver I had, was on his first day driving for uber. So this will improve, but the last thing we want is to go back to taxi that would be a step backwards.

Arrived at the Saskatoon airport. The wait for an uber her was 3 minutes. Never had a problem or a long wait getting a driver in Saskatoon, Las Vegas, Miami, St. Louis, New York, Seattle, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Montreal, Dallas or LA. Vancouver will eventually catch up.

[libtard]

Originally Posted by casper

Uber has to get more drivers on the system.

This afternoon I tried to catch a Uber from Collingwood area to the airport. It would should 10-15 minutes wait and then time up because no driver was available and accepting the ride. Needed to try to book the trip about 3-4 times before I ended up getting a driver. They need more drivers immediately.

Almost ready to drive out to the airport and pay for parking. No way was I going to feed money into the taxi industry the way it has been handling this.

The driver I had, was on his first day driving for uber. So this will improve, but the last thing we want is to go back to taxi that would be a step backwards.

Arrived at the Saskatoon airport. The wait for an uber her was 3 minutes. Never had a problem or a long wait getting a driver in Saskatoon, Las Vegas, Miami, St. Louis, New York, Seattle, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Montreal, Dallas or LA. Vancouver will eventually catch up.

I don’t know if Vancouver will catch up. How many of those other cities you mentioned require drivers to get a professional drivers license? Uber is most useful when it’s drivers reach critical mass with a ton of them on the road. Having the class 4 license requirement severely hampers that plan

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by casper

Vancouver will eventually catch up.

this is exactly it. the Class 4 requirement hinders the quick adoption for Uber.

everyone needs to keep in mind, we are one of the few places that require a professional licence, and we are also any years late to the game. it takes time to catch up.

it has only been just over 1 week.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by casper

This afternoon I tried to catch a Uber from Collingwood area to the airport. It would should 10-15 minutes wait and then time up because no driver was available and accepting the ride. Needed to try to book the trip about 3-4 times before I ended up getting a driver.

If you're in Collingwood then why not just take the Skytrain? Sounds like it might have ended up being faster after all the booking attempts. I think we're very fortunate to live in a city that has rapid transit right to the airport.

[moosejaw]

Miami was a mess during superbowl last night
It took me two hours to get home from a LAX -FLL flight
FLL wait times are up to 15 minutes as they are not allowed to enter the airport limits unless they have a confirmed ride. This gives taxis an advantage

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by chowhou

Yep, it's official!

DailyHive on the story

Welcome to 2012 Vancouver!

That world renowned metropolis of Saskatoon only beat us by a year in adopting ridesharing.

[Sheba]

...and in news that will surprise no one

The taxi industry is promising to continue its fight against Uber and Lyft after a judge rejected a bid to grant an injunction against the companies pending a legal challenge of the approval process that allowed them to operate in Metro Vancouver.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Veronica Jackson said the Vancouver Taxi Association failed to establish that an independent regulator used an uneven playing field in allowing the two companies to operate as of Jan. 23.

“The launch of Uber and Lyft in Vancouver did not arrive unannounced,” Jackson said Thursday.

Virtually all municipalities have had trouble providing an adequate number of taxis at bar-closing time, rush hour and for sporting events, while smaller communities have faced challenges in attracting the industry, Jackson said.

“The public interest favours the status quo,” she said, adding consultations and discussions over ride-hailing services have gone on for seven years in B.C. Half a million people have registered for an app with Uber, which has 800 drivers.

A judicial review, which could be months away, would not be in the taxi industry’s favour, she suggested.

...

The same judge is scheduled to announce her decision Friday in another ride-hailing case involving Uber, which sought an injunction against the City of Surrey for fining drivers and the company $500 a day for operating without a business licence while refusing to provide licences.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Sheba

...and in news that will surprise no one

The taxi industry is promising to continue its fight against Uber and Lyft...

at least the judge got things right. not unknown, lots of issues with taxis, and people have been consulted for so long.

the taxi industry had 7yrs to make us like them, they made us continue to hate them. it is their own fault.

[jollyburger]

And the Uber/Surrey injunction will probably get announced tomorrow.

[jollyburger]

As expected Doug McCallum loses again

https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/02/07/b-c-supreme-court-grants-uber-injunction-against-surrey/

[cyclinginvancouver]

February 7, 2020 Update:
Board Announces Additional Decisions on Ride Hailing Applications
The Passenger Transportation Board, an independent licensing tribunal, is mandated to make decisions on applications relating to passenger directed vehicles in British Columbia, including ride hailing authorizations.

The Board has completed its review of five additional applications from ride hailing companies:

Parhar, Garrindar Singh (Apt Rides) has been approved to operate in Region 1: Lower Mainland, Whistler.
Kabu Ride Inc. has been approved to operate in Region 1: Lower Mainland, Whistler; Region 2: Capital Regional District; Region 3: Vancouver Island, excluding CRD; Region 4: Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo; and Region 5: BC North Central & Other Regions of BC.
The Board has declined to approve the application of Azad, Payam (Transroad, Transroad Airport Shuttle) to operate in Region 1: Lower Mainland, Whistler.
The Board has declined to approve the application of Inorbis Corporation to operate in Region 1: Lower Mainland, Whistler; Region 2: Capital Regional District; Region 3: Vancouver Island, excluding CRD; Region 4: Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo; and Region 5: BC North Central & Other Regions of BC.
The Board has declined to approve the application of Tappcar Inc. to operate in Region 1: Lower Mainland, Whistler; Region 2: Capital Regional District; Region 3: Vancouver Island, excluding CRD; and Region 4: Okanagan-Kootenays-Cariboo.

https://www.ptboard.bc.ca/documents/Feb-7-2020-Third-Press-release.pdf