A ridesharing company has been approved to operate in Victoria, Kelowna and Kamloops, but it is still unclear how quickly it will be up and running.
Kabu Ride has been given the green light by the independent Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) to operate in all of the ridesharing regions in the province.
In its application to the PTB, Kabu said it planned to operate immediately in the Lower Mainland, in Victoria and in Nanaimo. The company plans on expanding operations to Kelowna within the first year or launch and anticipates 40 vehicles to serve both Kelowna and Kamloops by the end of 2020.
The company has hopes of “increasing the fleet to match demand” in those regions. The plan is to operate in Northern B.C. by 2021 or sooner with an initial vehicle fleet of 25 vehicles.
“Kabu says its drivers will come from the growing population of immigrants, and that Kabu will utilize their language skills, passion, and talents,” reads the PTB’s decision on Kabu’s application.
“This will provide people who immigrate to Canada with an entry-level job, the ability to earn a living wage, and connections with their new city and the people who live there.”
Kabu has not yet outlined publicly when they will be up and running in Victoria.
The PTB has received a total of 34 ridesharing applications to date and with Friday’s announcement has issued decisions on 11 of them. The board says it is in the process of reviewing pending applications and is working towards issuing further decisions on ridesharing applications as “expeditiously as possible.”
The board rejected the application from TappCar. The company already operated in Alberta and Manitoba and was supportive of the B.C. government’s decision to require drivers to have a commercial Class 4 licence.
The PTB found “significant concerns” with the way TappCar would comply with the regulatory framework in B.C.
“TappCar’s business plan states that it expects to start with 400+ drivers and vehicles servicing the proposed regions and eventually increase fleet size according to demand,” the decision reads.
“The goal for Region 1 is 1,000 drivers and vehicles within 12 months. There is only limited information provided by TappCar regarding the initial hiring of drivers and no information regarding the inspection of vehicles.”
The PTB found TappCar did not explain how potential incidents with a client or an accident would be addressed. The company also did not provide any evidence regarding retaining a record of all training programs provided to drivers and identifying who is responsible for training.
“Of particular concern to the Board is the lack of sufficient information in TappCar’s business plan to show how it will provide ongoing active management of the vehicles and drivers operating in British Columbia as required,” reads the decision.
Inorbis Corporation and Transroad were also rejected on Friday.
Apt Rides were approved to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler.
Currently there are two ridesharing companies operating in British Columbia, Uber and Lyft. Whistle! Ride is set to launch in Whistler on Monday.