Kelowna, Victoria still awaiting Uber service

There’s not much time left for Uber to make a holiday appearance in still-unserviced areas in B.C.

Last August Uber applied to BC’s Passenger Transportation Board for a licence transfer from another rideshare company, ReRyde, to operate in additional regions in B.C., including Victoria and Kelowna.

At the time the company said it had expectations that it would be up and running in these cities in time for the holidays and even held hiring fares in preparation. To date, the licence has not been granted.

“We would have liked to have Uber available in Victoria and Kelowna in time for the busy holiday season in December when there is a strong need for safe and reliable rides,” Keerthana Rang, Uber’s corporate communications lead said.

2:28 Taxi industry in Kelowna says Uber is inevitable but timing all wrong to let the ridesharing company operate right now.

“However, we first need a decision from the Passenger Transportation Board, which we hope will be positive.”

A representative from the Passenger Transportation Board said the application is currently being decided on and “beyond that, board staff are unable to provide any further details to the applicant or the public such as timelines for decision or application status updates.”

For a licence transfer to be approved, the PTB has to consider whether Uber is fit and proper to operate, and is capable of providing the proposed service.

In a licence transfer application, the board does not assess whether a licence transfer application addresses public need or promotes sound economic conditions under section 28 of the Act.

Public need and sound economic conditions were assessed by the board on the original transferor’s licence application.

Uber has been operating in Canada for 10 years in more than 140 municipalities.