On Thursday, January 23, 2020, VICTORIA: Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft have been approved to operate in Metro Vancouver, paving the way for the major companies to get vehicles on the streets within days or weeks. the Passenger Transportation Board approved the Uber and Lyft applications to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler.
The board also declined a demand from the taxi sector that it set a limit on the number of ride-hailing vehicles, or forbid the companies from using variable pricing.
Uber said it will start operations “very soon.”
“The PTB’s approval is one of the final steps before Uber is able to start providing reliable, safe, affordable rides in Metro Vancouver,” said Michael van Hemmen, head of Uber’s western division, in a statement.
“We hope to launch very soon, once we have obtained a business licence from the City of Vancouver and purchased insurance from ICBC. In the meantime, we encourage all qualified drivers with a Class 4 licence to sign up on the Uber app at drive.uber.com so they can start earning money as soon as operations begin.”
“The Surrey Board of Trade is pleased with the approval of the Lyft and Uber applications to operate in the Lower Mainland,” said Anita Huberman CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade and member of the Ridesharing Coalition. “We have been an ongoing advocate of ridesharing. With the decision to move to a regional business license system for this industry, we can’t wait until ridesharing is actually in operation.”