Do you think there will be a green light for Uber in BC eventually?

[J-23]

3 hours ago, Cramarossa said:

How do people get around BC right now? I'll be in Van later this year, and am wondering how to navigate the city since we won't have our own car. Do people still walk everywhere even in winter?

 

Public transit in my city is atrocious. Without Lyft/Uber a lot of us would be stranded. 

Skytrain is pretty convenient, I skytrain to most Canuck games I go to and it's fast and easy to get around the Vancouver area. Although I do find it creepy in there from time to time.

[Sean Monahan]

5 minutes ago, J-23 said:

Skytrain is pretty convenient, I skytrain to most Canuck games I go to and it's fast and easy to get around the Vancouver area. Although I do find it creepy in there from time to time.

Skytrain smells like pee. You know why? Because people pee on it.

[riffraff]

2 hours ago, Tre Mac said:

You tip cab drivers?

 

Anywho, anything that takes business away from the Taxi mafia is a good thing. 

I used the taxi back and forth from the airport (Saskatoon) the last four years.

 

only didn't tip twice.  Two idiot drivers.  Otherwise the others were hardworking family guys from various countries.

[diesel_3]

I hope so, I would register as a driver.

Soon to be setting up our suite as an Airbnb in Courtenay here...Always wanted to be self employed haha.

[themcdeal]

4 minutes ago, diesel_3 said:

I hope so, I would register as a driver.

Soon to be setting up our suite as an Airbnb in Courtenay here...Always wanted to be self employed haha.

Hope you have a backup plan 

pretty sure most uber drivers make below minimum wage 

[diesel_3]

3 minutes ago, themcdeal said:

Hope you have a backup plan 

pretty sure most uber drivers make below minimum wage 

Oh ya, i'm actually working/going to school.

Any extra income is a bonus!

[Down by the River]

6 minutes ago, diesel_3 said:

Oh ya, i'm actually working/going to school.

Any extra income is a bonus!

This is why Uber will be great, IMO. Students wanting the flexibility to earn a few bucks without a set work schedule. Gives them something more productive to do with downtime.

[Lancaster]

43 minutes ago, diesel_3 said:

Oh ya, i'm actually working/going to school.

Any extra income is a bonus!

 

36 minutes ago, Down by the River said:

This is why Uber will be great, IMO. Students wanting the flexibility to earn a few bucks without a set work schedule. Gives them something more productive to do with downtime.

I believe there's a video on youtube breaking down the actual cost of operating an Uber.  

 

The depreciation of the vehicle, taxes, percentage sent to Uber, fuel costs, etc.... unless you're just focused on those premium times, you'll actually be losing money.  

[diesel_3]

1 minute ago, Lancaster said:

 

I believe there's a video on youtube breaking down the actual cost of operating an Uber.  

 

The depreciation of the vehicle, taxes, percentage sent to Uber, fuel costs, etc.... unless you're just focused on those premium times, you'll actually be losing money.  

I live in the Comox Valley where cabs are a premium, just this weekend when I flew in from Ontario, the 10km cab ride home cost $30 (only a 15 minute ride).

I already have a used vehicle almost paid for and usually fill my tank once a month and don't drive much outside of grocery shopping.

 

Certainly those stats could vary depending on where you live.

 

[taxi]

1 hour ago, riffraff said:

I used the taxi back and forth from the airport (Saskatoon) the last four years.

 

only didn't tip twice.  Two idiot drivers.  Otherwise the others were hardworking family guys from various countries.

The drivers also don't own the licenses anymore. It costs over 1 million dollars for a taxi license now. They use the drivers as slave labour and take a significant portion of the money your provide to them. The taxi system is broken. There shouldn't be licenses. Each driver should be licensed individually with a non-transferable license. 

[Down by the River]

15 minutes ago, Lancaster said:

 

I believe there's a video on youtube breaking down the actual cost of operating an Uber.  

 

The depreciation of the vehicle, taxes, percentage sent to Uber, fuel costs, etc.... unless you're just focused on those premium times, you'll actually be losing money.  

Which is something students will be able to do given they tend to have quite flexible schedules. Plus as students, they're not likely to be making enough total salary to end up paying a meaningful income tax. 

[taxi]

4 hours ago, HerrDrFunk said:

Public transit in Vancouver is more than solid enough to get you around fairly quickly. I used it for years before I bought a car.

If you're coming and going to a place that is close to a skytrain station or an express bus it's fantastic. Otherwise it's horrendous. Waiting 30 minutes each transfer for a bus that may or may not come isn't an option for everyone. The skytrain lines also do not reach far enough. It's absurd that there isn't a skytrain line going into UBC, Canada's 4th largest university. 

[DonLever]

1 hour ago, Down by the River said:

This is why Uber will be great, IMO. Students wanting the flexibility to earn a few bucks without a set work schedule. Gives them something more productive to do with downtime.

The only problem is the insurance.   The taxi industry say sure, bring in Uber, but you need to buy $30,000 insurance like they have to.

 

What if the NDP government follow that advice and introduce a high rate of insurance?   That will effectively kill Uber.

 

How do other governments handle insurance?    Remember BC is one of the few jurisdiction with government monopoly on basic auto insurance.

[DonLever]

Latest News:

 

The NDP announces another study.  How many studies do we need?

 

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The NDP government is back-tracking on a promise to bring ride-hailing to the province by the end of the year, with the Transportation Minister instead announcing a review.

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.

Before May’s provincial election, the New Democrats promised to bring ride-hailing services to the province by the end of this year.

 

Trevena is now suggesting it may not happen before spring.

“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 admits she hasn’t read the report Hara put together for the City of Vancouver two years ago.

 

“Because what happens in Vancouver is not the whole province –although Vancouver may think it is sometimes. We’ve got to look at what’s happening in Prince George, in Campbell River, in Quesnel. We’ve got to look at right around the province,’ she says.

Trevena denies the delay in legislation will affect Uber’s plans to be up and running by New Year’s Eve, saying the company could just operate like the taxi industry does.

 

“If Uber or any other ride-share service wanted to operate at the moment, they could follow the rules that we have in place, which is: go to the Passenger Transportation Board and apply through them to make sure they had the right insurance through ICBC. There is a system in place already if they chose to use that system and operate here.”

 

Green Party leader Andrew Weaver isn’t happy with the announcement.

“I am very disappointed that the government will not keep its promise to bring ridesharing to British Columbians by the end of this year,” said Weaver.

 

“On Thursday, for the third time, I will introduce legislation that will enable ridesharing to finally operate in a regulated fashion in BC. I hope 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.”

 

Executives with Uber have repeatedly said they’ll be ready transport customers in and around Vancouver before New Year’s Eve.

[DefCon1]

On 8/22/2017 at 7:16 AM, Ghostsof1915 said:

If it works for you, so be it. Just don't post on Facebook when you get a $2000 fare on New Years Eve. 

 

I won't use Uber. I'll take transit, walk, ride a bike first. I rarely even use a cab. 

If you never used Uber in other countries, then you shouldn't really be commenting. I used Uber a lot outside of Canada because its better than Taxi, plain and simple. Taxi drivers in other countries are crooks, in BC they are thieves that charge $60 for a ride to the airport. Hopefully Uber comes to BC and brings some competition, not to mention jobs for people who are still on welfare.

[DefCon1]

On 8/22/2017 at 11:52 AM, Down by the River said:

Oh yeah, and what is with the apparent aversion to GPS among all taxi drivers? They refuse to use it and then ask me for directions. It is your god damn profession, take some pride in it.

 

That's why I'll be happy to fork over money to Uber drivers doing it to earn a bit of money on the side while they attend university. 

Tell me about it, just seems transportation in BC is still in the middle ages. In manila there is Grab taxi, Uber and other taxi apps that is convenient and cheaper usually. I just don't get why BC is so behind in terms of transportation options. The bus and skytrains are fine and dandy, other world class cities also have that but why not expand the transportation options and bring an option that could help fill deficiencies that we have right now. If Uber comes to Vancouver, then I wouldn't need to wait 2 hours for a cab outside when am drunk and the skytrain isn't operating. This would actually help get drunk drivers out of the roads.

[Scottish⑦Canuck]

Uber is great. Hassle free for the most part. I have no complaints about any of my trips and I use it pretty frequently in the US.

[Darkstar]

On 8/22/2017 at 10:48 AM, taxi said:

The only time the city ever seems to do anything quickly is when it involves preserving some aspect of corruption. The people who own the taxi licenses are a huge lobby group now. What was originally meant to regulate and ensure competent taxi drivers has now become a way totally limit anyone from entering the taxi market. I know there are safety concerns with Uber, but quite frankly it's not as though becoming a taxi driver requires some rigorous training. 

 

Can't wait for Uber, but I'm convinced the city will find a way to block and delay its arrival. Putting a bike lane in an expensive neighbourhood to quell traffic...now that's something the city can get behind!

 

 

Nailed it. 

 

I'm really excited for Uber. Vancouver is years behind in many things, including this. I've used Uber in remote areas of Southeast Asia, and yet Vancouver still doesn't have it. Ridiculous.

[Canada Hockey Place]

IMO depends on how close are they to fully automated vehicles. 

 

We need automated ride sharing in the Lower Mainland. It would considerably ease congestion. 

 

Big problem in the city is everybody is going to the same place at the same time. Otherwise traffic is tame. Computers can sort that out. 

 

 

[RonMexico]

They have Uber here in the Edmonton area and while I have never used it, there is no backlash against it. I know people that have used it and it worked just fine for them. How many times was I stranded in downtown Van after hours trying to get home to the burbs and there wasn't a cab in sight or they just never showed up? Would have loved Uber about 15-20 years ago.