Vancouver’s Mayor says province needs to figure out Uber
630ched.com
March 4, 2016
By Shane Woodford
The mayor of Vancouver says next steps are out of his hands, and the province needs to decide how Uber can operate in the city and elsewhere in British Columbia.
Gregor Robertson says there needs to be a level playing field between taxi companies the ride sharing app.
But that is the provincial government’s problem to deal with.
“The Passenger Transportation Branch is responsible for this. We’re waiting to hear what their next step is going to be in terms of rideshare. It remains in limbo, and obviously prevented Uber from setting up shop here, which I think is the right step, initially. In many places they have just come on into the market and they haven’t been kept at bay.”
That said, Robertson would like the province to deal with this quickly, ideally with a solution in the next couple of months.
“Uber is a giant company and in many cities around the world they are not meeting the standard that we have in Vancouver for accessibility, for green cabs, for ensuring drivers have appropriate background checks, and insurance. We want to make sure that all of that is covered and overall that we get better service. That people are able to get service quicker and get where they need to go.”
Uber struggles being felt in other cities outside Canada
It looks the struggles cities like Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver are having with ride sharing services like Uber are happening everywhere.
Helsinki Deputy Mayor Pekka Sauri says his city is having some very familiar sounding troubles.
“But it is an legally grey area according to Finnish law. People can use it but the legal situation is very difficult now and they are trying to resolve it. Obviously the traditional taxi profession is doing all it can to make it even more difficult. It is not easy but obviously it is
coming. The sharing economy will come there is no stopping it.”
