Lyft says they hope to be in operation in Metro 麻豆传媒映画in November, but that it won鈥檛 be the same here as it is in other cities outside B.C. Lyft vehicle/Shuttertstock
Provincial licences for ride-hailing services are expected within the next two to three weeks, according to the head of Lyft Inc.鈥檚 B.C. operations.
But Peter Lukomskyj said the riding experience in Metro 麻豆传媒映画might not quite match what British Columbians expect based on visits to other cities.
鈥淲e do want to temper expectations a little bit,鈥� he told Business in 麻豆传媒映画Thursday (October 24).
Lyft has been offering free training to drivers looking to get a Class 4 licence 鈥� a licence required by provincial regulations but one more difficult to obtain than the more ubiquitous Class 5 licence.
The company has so far facilitated Class 4 training for 鈥渉undreds and hundreds鈥� of potential Lyft drivers but Lukomskyj said 鈥渨e do anticipate having fewer drivers than we had hoped to launch with, so that may naturally restrict which regions we operate in.鈥�
He said he could not reveal how many drivers will be available to to offer rides once all the approvals are made.
Also restricting the regions in which Lyft operates is the potential for a patchwork of municipal governments charging various fees to ride-hailing companies.
Earlier this month 麻豆传媒映画city council approved a 30-cent pick-up and drop-off fee as well as a $100 per vehicle annual fee.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a [$100] fee that we don鈥檛 quite know what to do with,鈥� Lukomskyj said, adding the per vehicle requirement means Lyft is equally on the hook for a full-time driver as well as one who uses the platform only once before quitting.
He described it as a 鈥渇leet fee鈥� that doesn鈥檛 fit Lyft鈥檚 business model, as drivers provide their own vehicles.
And if a driver uses the same vehicle to offer rides for other services, such as Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) or B.C.-based Kater Technologies Inc., the city would still collect $100 from each company based on the single vehicle.
鈥淗onestly, all those costs are going to be passed on to riders,鈥� Lukomskyj said.
鈥淚f we have a fee that鈥檚 just too high out in one of the other municipalities, we may geo-fence around that municipality so that we can鈥檛 pick up there.鈥�
While Lukomskyj expects Lyft to receive a licence from the Passenger Transportation Board in two to three weeks time, he said it was difficult to estimate when exactly ride-hailing services would hit the streets.
Lyft would still need to obtain business licences from municipalities 鈥� a prospect Lukomskyj said could take days in some cases and weeks in other cases.
Kater, meantime, struck a deal last year with the 麻豆传媒映画Taxi Association to secure taxi licences for the firm鈥檚 own fleet of vehicles and allow passengers to hail rides through an app.
The B.C.-based company has been offering rides through this arrangement since the spring and has since submitted an application to the Passenger Transportation Board for a ride-hailing licence.
CEO Scott Larson told Business in 麻豆传媒映画once a licence is secured he expects to Kater to offer traditional ride-hailing services within 7-10 days.
He, too, said he could not reveal how many drivers Kater expects to be ready to offer rides when ride-hailing services begin.
Michael van Hemmen, Uber鈥檚 general manager of Western Canada, declined an interview request from BIV.
In an emailed statement attributed to van Hemmen, he said Uber is 鈥渁ctively working to begin operations in the weeks after we receive approval to operate from the Passenger Transportation Board.鈥�
He also cautioned that the Class 4 requirement means riders may have to wait longer for rides compared with experiences in other cities.
