We could be finding our way home from Christmas parties this year not in the back of a cab but rather in the back of some Joe’s jalopy.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced this week that the province will soon start writing the legislation necessary to allow app-based ride-for-hire companies like Uber and Lyft to begin operating in B.C.
Of course, this act of governance is actually more like a campaign promise as it’s completely contingent on you-know-who being re-elected on May 9.
In any case, we hope our new drivers have good strong backs because this ride comes with a lot of baggage.
Companies like Uber and Lyft have achieved dominance in the markets they exist in not by providing friendly, affordable, on-time service but rather by picking and choosing which licensing, inspections, regulations and taxes they’ve felt like observing.
And Uber and Lyft are representative of a new “sharing economy” where people pick up whatever extra work they can in order to get by. Sadly, this is a model that’s ripe for exploitation and Uber is frequently called out by its drivers for underpaying them.
The province is also promising subsidies for the taxi industry to soften the blow for them. While that may rub some the wrong way, recall that taxi drivers have been soaked for years with exorbitant licensing costs.
Still, it seems, you can’t stop progress. And there’s no question the public would like to see the change made. We all know the frustration that comes when there’s not a cab to be had out there.
So we urge the government, whichever one we may have come June, to step lightly on the accelerator. We all just want to get home safe.
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