Fraser Valley – The arguments,pro and con, for and against ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, have been a hot topic of late.
The B.C. Supreme Court has granted Uber, an injunction which will stop the City of Surrey from ticketing drivers. Mayor Doug McCallum has been very pro taxi and anti ride share, but then backtracked saying he wants a level playing field. The ticketing of ride share drivers promoted the legal action.
The Surrey Board of Trade wants ride sharing and like Metro Vancouver, is championing a one size fits all business licence for the likes of Uber and Lyft.
Last month, FVN and chillTV asked the respective Abbotsford and Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce for a comment.
Abbotsford has yet to respond.
Leanna Kemp, Executive Director for the Chilliwack Chamber, sent this to FVN:
On behalf of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce, we are in support of the BC Chamber network’s recommendations, passed in May of 2019 at our annual AGM, to our Provincial Government with respect to Ridesharing.
These recommendations are as follows:
1) Implement Ridesharing and allow for ridesharing companies to enter and operate in the BC market.
2) To Maximize the beneficial effects of competition, regulators should abolish geographical boundaries for drivers, allowing any qualified driver to participate without artificial caps, allow them to adjust serving areas
3) Allow for market-based pricing to ensure consumer choice, convenience and innovation
4) Permit taxi and ridesharing drivers to utilize a Class 5 license similar to Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan ifthe driver meeting strict safe driver screening criteria.
To see the full policy, click here and review pg. 142.
On another note, the Chamber believes that the municipal governments in the Fraser Valley and other areas need to work on the business licensing issue such as a regional license similar to the mobile business license available to trades and contractors.
