Uber launching in Victoria and Kelowna next week
After years of trying to break into the market, popular ride-hailing app Uber is set to launch in Victoria and Kelowna in early June.
On Monday, Uber said it would be launching "next week" in the two B.C. cities, though a specific start date was not announced.
Uber also sent out advertisements to potential drivers in both cities on Monday in an effort to recruit workers ahead of next week's start date.
It's been a long, meandering journey for the ride-hailing company to begin operating in Victoria and Kelowna.
Uber had applied multiple times to the Passenger Transportation Safety Board (PTB) to operate beyond Vancouver, but was rejected for several reasons.
In its most recent attempt in 2021, the PTB said it did not believe there was enough demand in Victoria for Uber, and that local taxi operators and ride-hailing companies needed more time to recover from the pandemic.
In 2022, Uber decided to apply for a licence transfer, instead of a new licence, by purchasing the operating licence of ReRyde, a Vancouver-based ride-hailing company that had already been approved tp operate in Victoria and Kelowna.
The PTB has fewer requirements to approve a licence transfer compared to approving an entirely new licence, and on May 10 the licence transfer was approved.
The PTB says Uber's licence transfer application created "significant interest" from local stakeholders, including more than 40 submissions from taxi companies and other ride-hailing services in Victoria and Kelowna.
Many of the submitters argued that Uber had circumvented the PTB's approval rules, and that there was no valid business case for taking over ReRyde's licence, since it hadn't actually started operating in Victoria.
Meanwhile, there were submissions of support for Uber coming to Victoria from entities like the Victoria International Airport and Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada, which argued that there were not enough transportation options available in the city, and that Uber would help reduce the rate of impaired driving by offering a travel alternative.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.