Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to the Aug. 3 front-page story Ride-hailing Delay Irks North Shore Folk.
I share the disheartening experiences in accessing taxi services on the North Shore. I am a person with physical disabilities.
I do not drive and rely on HandyDart buses or taxis in meeting my commuting needs.
My experience relates to a Sunday evening after I finished a concert in a church in the Deep Cove area.
I had booked a HandyDart bus for the return ride back to my home in the Westview area. Instead of a bus, the HandyDart office called me and arranged a taxi for me.
No taxi arrived at the time promised.
I called back and was told that the taxi company could not find a taxi around that time (about 9:30 p.m.). Eventually a taxi arrived but that was only after waiting for one hour in the church (I was fortunate that the church door was not locked after the concert otherwise I would have had to wait on the pavement).
During the taxi trip back home, the taxi driver told me that he was the only driver on that Sunday evening, and he had already made an effort to hurry back to North Vancouver after dropping off two passengers in Port Coquitlam. Eventually I was able to reach home after an ordeal of more than one hour from the end of concert.
There is an undeniable lack of taxi services on the North Shore, and obviously Uber and other ridesharing options can meet the increasing demand for services.
I cannot understand why it takes so long for the provincial government to give approval to these ridesharing companies.
Even if there are 300 more taxi licences to be meted out during this transitional period, it is another question whether we will have sufficient trained taxi drivers.
Meanwhile, I keep my fingers crossed that I can obtain taxi services next time I need them.
Hin Lee
North Vancouver
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