Leader Wants Action On Ridesharing

The BC Conservative Party is urging the NDP government to get moving with ridesharing.

Interim leader Scott Anderson of Vernon wants the province to table legislation by the end of this year, calling it long overdue.

“It’s time to let people decide if they will support this innovation in transportation,” says Anderson.

The government has said it will study the issue further, with legislation for services like Uber and Lyft possibly by next fall.

Anderson suggests a pilot project should be launched somewhere, allowing people to choose between ride sharing or taxis.

“Ridesharing is already growing across Canada, whether the government or the taxi companies like it or not. The time to act is now. Instead of throwing taxpayer money at more studies, let’s try a pilot project somewhere. Kelowna seems ideal since it’s a medium sized city, small enough to monitor but large enough to allow us to see a full range of impacts and implications.”

Anderson rejects the BC Liberal plan of a taxpayer-funded app to prop up existing taxi companies, and accuses the NDP of dragging its feet in the face of change.