We’ve all heard of Uber and Lyft right? The world-renowned ride-sharing apps seem to be hitting every major city in the world, except for BC. It’s been quite a ride over the past few years with Vancouverites wanting ride-sharing, and city counsellors being hesitant to allow them into our province. But, why are British Columbia’s leaders taking so long to allow Uber and Lyft to grace our wonderful province? And why do Vancouver citizens want ride-sharing apps so badly?
In November of 2018, the NDP party approved a legislation for ride-sharing apps in Vancouver, but some say Uber and Lyft won’t start roaming the streets until the fall of 2019. So after having to wait years for ride-sharing, we will have to wait almost another year for it to officially come into play, and people are not happy about it. But why did counsellors not want ride-sharing in the first place? The first reason is concern for congestion in city traffic, the second are taxi drivers in Vancouver, who are concerned for their business. In the summer of 2016, taxi drivers were protesting for Uber to not be allowed into Toronto, and a taxi driver was even hospitalized as a result of these protests.
Vancouver currently has multiple taxi services, but many customers complain of them being unprofessional and rude. If taxi drivers are so concerned of losing customers, just be more professional! Customers are always complaining of situations, such as being left in the middle of no where by taxi drivers who don’t want to drive them, taxi drivers not wanting to drive to the suburbs from downtown, taxi drivers driving aggressively, and of them being outright rude to customers. About 50% of Vancouverites don’t use their own vehicles as their main form of transportation, but rather rely on taxis, busses, or bicycles to get to their destination, proving the point that Uber and Lyft will make customer’s lives a little easier. Besides, taxi fares are WAY too overpriced anyways. This is why many Vancouver citizens are begging for ride-sharing apps, for better service and fares.
The taxi drivers of Vancouver have decided to start their own ride-sharing app, to counter Uber and Lyft. But the only thing this app will do is guide people into using Uber and Lyft more. Besides, it’s not an app that will stop them from losing customers to Uber and Lyft, it’s simply improving their service.
Vancouver is in dire need of ride-sharing apps, as we saw, taxi and public transport are not the most reliable options, so hopefully Uber and Lyft will come in and save the lower mainland from bad service and unreliable transportation.
Feature Image courtesy of: The Province
