John Horgan says the wait will be worth it

Of the couple dozen applications to operate only one has been approved so far

The wait for ridesharing to become a reality in Vancouver continues

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — With the 2019 deadline for ride-hailing long gone, the B.C. Premier says the timing isn’t ideal but insists it’s the way it had to be.

Of the couple dozen applications to operate, only one has been approved so far, but Premier John Horgan says it is coming soon.

“The better course of action is to get it done right not to get it done quickly,” Horgan says.

He says some important details needed include “making sure that we are protecting the travelling public, making sure that the workers who that are hired to do this are not just trained but are also safe and are being paid a fair wage.”

Horgan adds, a year from now, long after ridesharing is in place, no one will be asking what took so long.

While the passenger transportation board reviews applications, Horgan says the government has been doing what nudging is appropriate for an independent agency.

“We’ve done, I believe, everything we can to make this as transparent as possible for the existing industry and also for the travelling public.”

The province initially promised ridesharing by the holidays, but a change in the approval process pushed past that deadline into 2020.

The one company approved so far, called Green Coast Ventures, can operate in Squamish and Whistler.