Uber Senior Manager makes another pitch for ridesharing in Kelowna

As late as August, Uber was betting on B.C.’s provincial government to approve ridesharing services by the end of 2017.

It’s a bet the ridesharing giant lost, despite an election promise from the NDP, Liberals and Green party that B.C. residents would be taking Ubers home from their Christmas parties.

On Thursday, Uber Senior Manager Michael van Hemmen delivered a keynote presentation in Kelowna where he said the introduction of ridesharing in this province would be a “win-win-win” for all involved.

“We’re very excited about the potential of bringing ridesharing and Uber to Kelowna and to be able to bring an additional transportation option that will work in collaboration with public transit and biking and walking and make our community much more pleasurable to live in,” said van Hemmen.

According to the Passenger Transportation Board, there were 104 licensed cabs authorized to operate in the Kelowna area in 2016, but a popular sentiment among residents is that there is plenty of room for more transportation options in the city.

"The mayor and council do not have an official position on ridesharing," said Jerry Dombowsky. "Companies like Uber and Lyft effectively act as taxi companies today and we have to be sensitive to the taxi industry because we're talking about employment and traditional jobs that could be impacted."

B.C. is quickly becoming one of the most populated places on earth without a ridesharing service and Vancouver is officially the largest city in North America without ridesharing.

"The government cannot stick its head in the sand when it comes to new technology," said Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver in August.

The absence of ridesharing is not the end of the world, but it does have a negative impact on several hot topic issues:

• Drunk driving
• Transportation issues in small, taxi-less communities
• Environmental impact

Kelowna is second to only St. John's, Newfoundland when it comes to the rate of police-reported impaired driving incidents in Canada, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

It's also an issue that smaller cities in B.C. are watching, in September with the City of Enderby put forward a motion at this year's UBCM conference to advocate for regulations that work in smaller communities.

"In small communities it's even difficult for a taxi to set up and operate and make it viable, but a ride share program could be quite successful, if it was allowed to operate outside the larger communities," said Enderby Mayor Greg McCune.

Unlike other provinces, in B.C., the provincial government handles rules and regulations around taxis meaning cities have limited influence on whether or not ridesharing is available. After taping the brakes on their the original promise, the B.C. NDP is now undertaking a consultation on ridesharing with a province-wide report due in the spring of 2018.

"My goal with this committee is to make this the last holiday season in which British Columbians are faced with fewer transportation options than every other major city in North America," said Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver.