VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Businesses across the region are once again pushing the provincial government for more transportation options, as the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade releases a survey and recommendations aimed at allowing ride-hailing services like Uber to operate in BC.

“We pride ourselves on being a region of innovators that takes stock and pride in our technology community, yet there are 400 regions around the world that have already embraced ride-sharing as an innovative and forward-looking way to move our people around and free up other parts of the transportation grid. Vancouver is not one of them,” says board President and CEO Iain Black.

The board has released the results of a recent survey of its members, finding that 80 per cent would like to see the government move forward and introduce regulations that would allow services such as Uber and Lyft in BC.

“There are four key recommendations that we have made that address some of the challenges in the status quo. The first is we need a regulatory framework that ensures the safety of the passengers and the reliability of the vehicles that are used,” Black tells NEWS 1130. “We need to update taxi regulations as well to give them a chance to compete on a level playing field. Right now the rules are set up in way that hurts the taxi industry.”

The board also sees a need to get rid of what Black calls “regulatory challenges” across the region. “We have different rules for taxis in different cities throughout the Lower Mainland and that’s crazy,” he explains.

Finally, the GVBOT recommends the province direct ICBC to create new insurance options suitable for both the taxi and ride-sharing industries. “It’s been 30 years since we revised the Passenger Transportation Act in British Columbia and there have been so many things that have changed in that time. We have the objective of achieving a better transit and transportation system and in order to get there we not only need more SkyTrain and LRT, we not only need more buses and SeaBuses, but we also need these types of on-demand services.”

Black says there is a high number of tourists and business people coming to Vancouver who are accustomed to using ride-hailing services. “They are seeing that we as a city are just not current with respect to the options we give for getting around the region.”

Last month, the provincial government released its Ride Sourcing in BC stakeholder engagement report, but Victoria has not given any timeline for a decision on allowing ride hailing services to operate in BC.