Uber expands across B.C., challenging local taxi and ride-hailing companies in some cities

Courtney Dickson · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 5:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

Communities crossed B.C. volition present person entree to the ride-hailing app Uber starting Wednesday, arsenic the institution expands extracurricular Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna. 

While this whitethorn beryllium promising quality for some, taxi and different ride-hailing companies operating successful those smaller communities are making the transportation arsenic to wherefore passengers should instrumentality with them. 

For example, Uride, which operates successful Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Penticton, Prince George, Vernon, Comox and Courtenay, started successful Thunder Bay, Ont., aft CEO Cody Ruberto started giving rides to folks to forestall impaired driving. 

It works likewise to Uber and Lyft, wherever customers tin bid a thrust connected an app connected their phone. 

"It's benignant of Canada's homegrown rideshare company," Ruberto told CBC's The Early Edition big Stephen Quinn. 

Ruberto said they get a batch of uptake successful the communities successful which Uride operates, and they effort to absorption connected operator satisfaction, which, successful turn, usually translates to blessed customers. 

"If we person capable drivers successful a metropolis to conscionable request and a small spot extra, there's times wherever we intermission hiring and adhd much drivers arsenic request increases," helium said. "It's captious for america to marque it a large occupation for drivers and large work for drivers."

WATCH | Uber goes provincewide:

He's hopeful British Columbians volition use the propulsion to enactment section astatine the market store to marque akin decisions erstwhile it comes to choosing a ride-hailing company. 

"It's benignant of similar the David versus Goliath, right, a $150 cardinal U.S. institution versus the homegrown Canadian [ride-hailing] service."

Mohan Kang, the president of the B.C. Taxi Association agrees. 

"Uber wealth flies implicit the border," helium said. "The taxis, we each unrecorded successful those communities. We wage taxes; we bash everything a Canadian would beryllium expected to do."

Kang, who has been progressive with the taxi manufacture for astir 50 years, said taxi drivers and companies crossed B.C. are disquieted astir the instauration of Uber aft what they saw successful Vancouver. 

Taxis person mislaid astir fractional their concern to companies similar Uber and Lyft, Kang estimated. When Uber arrived successful Vancouver, galore drivers near taxi companies to articulation Uber oregon Lyft. 

"It's going to wounded tiny taxi companies close up to shutting them down," Kang said. 

He said determination was ne'er "a level playing field" successful Vancouver, wherever taxis and ride-hailing companies had antithetic rules and regulations astir things similar fleet size. 

Kang believes determination are capable taxis successful B.C. communities to service their respective populations. 

"They service the assemblage well."

The app soft-launched successful Vancouver successful 2012, and lone a fewer months later, the institution withdrew from the city. After a batch of play astir ride-hailing authorities and taxis warring against ride-hailing, the institution returned to Vancouver successful January of 2020. 

Uber expanded to Victoria, Chilliwack and Kelowna successful 2023.

Uber's pitch

In its quality release, the institution said driving with Uber tin beryllium a flexible mode to marque a surviving — for those with harmless driving records. The institution emphasized the quality to enactment erstwhile and wherever you want. 

Uber said it is offering a $500 inducement for eligible drivers who instrumentality 10 trips successful their respective communities successful the archetypal 4 weeks of operating.

Uber Canada wide manager Michael van Hemmen said it's besides a payment to riders, arsenic well. 

"[B.C.] is an costly spot to live," helium said. "Owning a car is costly … alternatively of owning 2 cars and you tin person a household and get distant with 1 car and usage transit and Uber for your different rides, you're redeeming money."

The institution has partnered with assemblage organizations, including MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), that are helping beforehand the service. 

"Keeping roads harmless is simply a work we each stock — and successful British Columbia, that starts with giving radical amended options to get home," MADD CEO Steve Sullivan said successful a quality release.

"Whether successful a large metropolis oregon a smaller community, each harmless thrust is simply a measurement toward preventing impaired driving and protecting lives."

Van Hemmen said Uber volition beryllium peculiarly beneficial successful communities that don't person different reliable proscription options, similar the SkyTrain successful Vancouver. 

"Uber tin assistance capable immoderate of those gaps, particularly to help, say, seniors get to appointments."