A Tofino-based transportation firm is the first company approved to offer ride-hailing services in the province.
Green Coast Ventures鈥� application to offer ride-hailing in Tofino-Ucluelet and Whistler was approved Monday by the Passenger Transportation Board.
The company, which will do business as Whistle and WhistleRide, hopes to have 15聽cars on the road on the Island鈥檚 west coast in early January, and 30 in the Whistler area in early February.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an exciting morning,鈥� said Green Coast founder Dylan Green, shortly after the announcement. 鈥淭o be the first one licensed in this new ride-hailing industry was exciting. Surprising, but really quite exciting.鈥�
Green is a transportation-industry veteran who founded Tofino Bus Services in 2002. He sold that company to Wilson鈥檚 Transportation Group in 2018.
The Passenger Transportation Board has approved Green Coast to operate everywhere on the Island except the Capital Regional District. It鈥檚 also approved to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler.
In his application, Green told the board he intended to focus the service for the first year on the resort communities of Tofino/Ucluelet and Whistler/Pemberton/Squamish.
Green said resort communities, which are traditionally under-served by transportation companies of all stripes, are ideal for the service.
He said they tend to have a lot of residents who are there for the lifestyle, want or need jobs with flexible hours, might need second jobs to deal with the expense and are small enough to benefit from the ride-pooling option he will offer. The pool option has a lower fare for people willing to share their rides and pick up people all聽heading in the same direction.
鈥淚n Whistler, everyone finishes their ski day at the same time,鈥� he said, adding that in Tofino, there鈥檚 not a lot of traffic, but many people commuting into the town鈥檚 resorts and businesses for work.
But to make it all work, Green needs drivers. 鈥淭he design of ride-hailing is based on having a lot of drivers, especially casual drivers who would want to jump in on a busy weekend or when it fits their schedule,鈥� he said.
He will be beating the bushes in both communities and offering financial assistance to help drivers get their Class 4 licences, have their cars inspected, get insurance and get a criminal-record check.
鈥淎ll of these things take time,鈥� he said, which is why the service won鈥檛 be launching immediately. 鈥淏ut we know there is demand. We just need to make sure we can meet that demand.鈥�
Green said he is aware there is a lot of interest and pent-up demand for ride-hailing. 鈥淏eing the first, the pressure is for us to get started as soon as possible.鈥�
The company will use its own Whistle application to connect passengers with certified drivers, and offer the option for passengers to share their rides to reduce fares for those who have long commutes to work.
Green suggested expansion plans could eventually include smaller towns such as Courtenay to serve Mount Washington, and Parksville-Qualicum to serve a growing senior population.
The Passenger Transportation Board has laid out regulations for ride-hailing companies in sa国际传媒
The policies allow for large operating areas and no limits on fleet size, though ride-hailing operations will not be allowed to charge any less than a comparable starting taxi fare.
The board has established five areas for ride-hailing in sa国际传媒: the Lower Mainland and Whistler, the capital region, the rest of Vancouver Island, Okanagan-Kootenay-Cariboo, and the rest of聽sa国际传媒
The services can apply to operate in as many of those areas as they wish, though they will only be charged one application fee and one licence fee.
Taxi companies can also apply for a TNS 鈥� transportation network services 鈥� licence. Taxis operating under a TNS licence would be subject to the same rules, including the flexibility to operate within defined ride-hailing boundaries.
The Passenger Transportation Board started accepting applications from ride-hailing companies on Sept. 3, with the board estimating applications would take up to eight weeks for a decision.
Another 22 applications are still awaiting a decision.
Ride-hailing companies such as Lyft and Uber have said the requirement in sa国际传媒 for drivers to have a Class 4 commercial licence could make it difficult to operate outside the Lower Mainland.
The board also announced Monday that the application of Victoria-based Lucky to Go, which intended to operate on the Island and in the Okanagan, was rejected.
In its decision, the board noted Lucky to Go did not offer detailed market information, had no experience in transportation and was vague in parts of its business plan and driver management, and that its business plan did not 鈥渞eveal an understanding of the passenger transportation business generally.鈥�
