During BC’s provincial election, the NDP promised they would implement ride-sharing in province by the end of 2017, but now they have officially confirmed it won’t happen, until an expert review is conducted. Transport Minister Claire Trevena made the announcement this afternoon, reports News1130:
Claire Trevena says there’ll be no ride-hailing in the province until the expert review is completed. She says Dan Hara, who has over two decades of experience, will consult with and prepare the taxi industry for the introduction of services such as Uber and Lyft. The review isn’t due until early 2018.
Trevena said “We’ve got six pieces of legislation that we have to potentially modernize, one going back to 1924. Things were very different in 1924 than they are in 2017. So I think that it’s a very reasonable approach to look at what we’ve got now before we rush into the next step.”
She says if companies like Uber want to get up and running in the province, they can do so legally by following the same rules as taxi companies, noting “there is a system in place already if they chose to use that system and operate here.”
Green Party leader Andrew Weaver called the announcement disappointing, saying “I am very disappointed that the government will not keep its promise to bring ridesharing to British Columbians by the end of this year.”
Weaver says on Thursday he will attempt for the third time to introduce ride-sharing legislation, and hopes “both parties will take this opportunity to engage in a substantive debate on the details of this issue so that we can move past rhetoric and vague statements and finally get to work delivering for British Columbians.”
In early October, the NDP hinted ride-sharing would not launch on time in the province as promised, but today it is official.
Are you looking forward to the day Uber starts operating in BC?
