The City of Vancouver has signed off on inter-municipal ridesharing licences for Lyft and Uber.
The world’s two largest ridesharing companies can now pick up and drop off passengers across the Lower Mainland using just one licence, rather than having to get one in each municipality.
Participating municipalities include Abbotsford, Anmore, Bowen Island, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Delta, Harrison Hot Springs, City of Langley, Township of Langley, Lions Bay, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Squamish, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and White Rock.
The licensing fee is $155 for the company, $150 per standard vehicle and $30 per zero-emission vehicle. Wheelchair-accessible vehicles do not require a fee.
Lyft and Uber were approved to operate in Metro Vancouver by the Passenger Transportation Board in January.
At the time, some municipalities, such as Surrey and Burnaby, fought against ridesharing.
Surrey refused to create such a business licence and at one point issued bylaw tickets to Uber drivers who dropped off customers in that city.