What ride hailing regulations mean for Kamloops

Milobar sat on the all-party committee on ride hailing.

He says the Class 5 license, which is the most common, provides just as much safety for passengers as the Class 4.

“Class 4 is very onerous to get, Class 5 statistically does not create any less safe of a driving experience for people.”

In addition to his disappointment over the Class 4 regulation, Milobar feels taxi drivers were not provided the level playing field they were asking for.

“Something as simple as insurance rates, we’ve not heard that taxis will be able to tap into a lower insurance product like the ride hailing companies, which means those taxis that sit around and wait and only run on weekends and busy times will still be paying huge insurance rates compared to what that Uber driver would be paying,” Milobar said.

Popular ride hailing companies like Uber and Lyft are not expected to make applications for the Kamloops region, but there are rumblings of a third company with interest in the Interior.

“I heard there is a third party that is looking to come into the Interior,” said the city’s Business License Inspector Dave Jones. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had any communication. But, obviously it would be great if there was someone, for them to reach out to us, to provide them with any information they need from a local perspective.”

If a company does choose to work in Kamloops, they will need to make an application to the Passenger Transportation Board.

“They may make an application for, say, 50 vehicles and then in that application they’ll determine which communities are being involved,” Jones said. “So, for the City of Kamloops, very little will change. Obviously we’ll get notification for the board to say that the ride hailing company wants to come to town.”

In order to bring a ride hailing company to Kamloops, some changes may need to be made to the city’s Vehicles for Hire bylaw.

by Jill Sperling

What ride hailing regulations mean for Kamloops

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