Ride-hailing gets the green light in B.C.

Ride-hailing was given the green light yesterday when the B.C. Legislative Assembly unanimously adopted the Committee's report.

Earlier this fall, the Legislative Assembly had the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations head up an inquiry and produce a report on ride-hailing.

After three days of hearings in January, the Committee compiled a report based on 26 presentations and 12 written submissions on how ride-hailing should exist in B.C.

The Committee's recommendations were heard and officially adopted yesterday.

The Committee highlighted five key areas including accessibility; employment; public transportation; traffic congestion and environment; small, rural and remote communities; and the taxi industry.

#BCLeg Crown Corporations Committee releases its report on #ridehailing in BC. Read it here: https://t.co/GtWVmAEYJR. Many thanks to all who shared their views! #bcpoli #ridesharing pic.twitter.com/0jw2j9wUgv

— BC Legislature (@BCLegislature) February 15, 2018

B.C. Green leader, Andrew Weaver was pleased with the adoption, as he's been pushing for a legislative framework around the service for the past two years.

Welcoming all-party committee report on ride-hailing https://t.co/MaAWt8rgF2 #bcpoli

— Andrew Weaver (@AJWVictoriaBC) February 15, 2018

"I am delighted that we now have a pathway forward. I’ll continue to work in the BC Legislature to ensure government introduces legislation in a timely fashion. There really are no longer any excuses for delay," said Weaver.

The Committee made the following six recommendations to the Legislative Assembly yesterday, that the BC Government:

1. Require all ride-hailing companies with fleets over a reasonable size to achieve a wait-time standard or service guarantee for accessible service that is equal to that of non-accessible trips.

2. All non-accessible trips (across the ride-hailing industry) should be assessed a levy that can be used to enhance accessible services.

3. Require all transportation network company online applications to meetCommitteeed established mobile accessibility standards (W3C), such as the inclusion of screen readers and a high contrast colour scheme as well as the option for customers to input additional notes or prompts to the driver.

4. Ensure that transportation network companies provide access for their drivers to inclusion training that has been established/certified as an industry standard, such as Serving Customers with Disabilities through the Justice Institute of British Columbia, TaxiHostPro, WorldHost, and ACT.

5. Require ride-hailing companies to provide an accessible trip bonus to drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles, in recognition of the extra time required to deliver accessible service and the cost of operating an accessible vehicle.

6. Ensure that transportation network companies and their drivers are not permitted to charge a higher fee to a customer who requires an accessible vehicle.

Several terms have been used interchangeably to describe the service. However, the Committee has now defined the two most commonly used terms:

Ride-hailing/Ride-sourcing:

The provision of immediate or on-demand service, where a vehicle and driver are hired for a fee to transport a passenger, or a small group of passengers, between locations of their choice.

This service can be provided by transportation network companies and traditional taxi operators.

Ride-sharing:

An arrangement between two or more people to travel together in a single vehicle to a common or proximate destination(s).

The BC Government plans to introduce ride-hailing this fall.