NDP Breaks Promise to Allow Uber into B.C. by Year End

An election promise that was supposed to bring ride-sharing services to British Columbia has taken a slight detour.

The NDP government said that safety of its passengers is coming first in its decision. On Tuesday, Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said that the government is studying the safety and regulatory issues. Trevena said that the decision is not the government stalling.

“It’s doing what we said we were going to do in the (election) platform and when we took over as government. We’re going to make sure passenger safety comes first.”

The NDP originally promised to work with taxi and ride-sharing companies to create a fair approach to the legislation in B.C. by the end of this year. However, Trevena will no longer put a timeline to that promise.

“We want to make sure whatever we’re doing, we’re doing it safely, we’re doing it judiciously. We’re talking about people’s safety here.”

In a statement, Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said the company is monitoring ride sharing developments in British Columbia. B.C. Taxi Association president Mohan Kang said the minority NDP government has committed to consult on ride sharing with stakeholders, including the taxi industry.

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