While the NDP continues to drag its heels on approving ride-hailing services like Uber in B.C., TransLink is quietly working on its own operation.
The service, known alternatively as vanpool or ridesharing, is similar to those that have been operating in the Seattle area for years, and would give businesses the chance to create carpools for their employees.
TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond, who ran King County Metro Transit in the Puget Sound region before coming to the Lower Mainland, explained the idea following an address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Tuesday.
“We would provide the vehicle,” Desmond said, which would be operated and taken care of by one of the users in the carpool and who would be responsible for shuttling a group of co-workers.
“That’s the model that we have in the Puget Sound and elsewhere in the United States.”
Rideshare and vanpool services can also be found in other states like Michigan and Oregon, and have proven to be popular with employees and environmentalists alike.
Large companies in particular would likely benefit from the service, especially in areas like the North Shore, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows that are somewhat cut off from the main transit network.
The program would contribute to a long-standing goal of TransLink’s, and of Desmond’s: to cut down on the number of single-driver vehicles on Lower Mainland roads, which has started to climb up again since the tolls were taken off the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges in September.
“You’re spending a lot of money driving alone, owning and gassing your own car,” Desmond said.
“We have a deal for you where you could probably save money, and it’s a much more relaxing way to go.”
—With files from Ted Chernecki
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