Ordering a car on the Uride app. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Uride

Vernon ride sharing off to successful start with ‘rapid growth’

Mar 8, 2023 | 2:00 PM

A Canadian ride sharing company that has been operating in Vernon for just over a month has seen a lot of early success.

Uride launched in Vernon January 27, 2023, and was immediately met with a great response.

“I don’t have an exact number, but I know we’ve done thousands of rides already (as of March 8),” Ravi Dhami, Uride’s regional operations manager for Western Canada, told Vernon Matters.

“We’re seeing rapid growth. Growth every single day, day over day, week over week. So definitely happy to see how we’ve progressed within about five weeks now.”

The company did not have any targets for rides, with Dhami stating there’s “a lot of unknowns” with launching in a new market, but adding they are “really thrilled with the results” so far.

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With those initial numbers, Dhami stated this was one of, if not the best, launch the company has had to date.

“With Kelowna and Kamloops being two larger cities bordering Vernon, the brand recognition, the brand awareness was probably a bit higher than when we launched in Kelowna, being our first [B.C.] city or Kamloops being our second city, so I’d put Vernon right up there amongst the best, one of the most successful launches that we’ve seen to date,” Dhami stated.

“I’d probably say [it’s one of the most successful launches] in all of Canada, especially when you consider the population of Vernon. It’s smaller than a lot of our communities, and with the amount of rides we’ve been able to complete. So I’d say it’s right up there company wide.”

In addition to the number of rides, the service has earned a lot of positive feedback.

“I’ve had a couple drivers say they almost feel like a superhero driving in Vernon just with how warm the reception is from the riders,” Dhami said.

“Riders are saying the norm [before the launch] was 45 to 90 minutes wait for a ride in the past, whereas now our average pickup time is well below 10 minutes.”

Dhami added they secured a lot of drivers before the launch and have had more people sign up since then, though he did note they are always looking for more drivers.

Taking these factors into consideration, the company is looking at some local expansion.

“Obviously there are still areas within Vernon, such as Silver Star, where we’re not currently picking up, but with all these drivers coming through and coming our way, that’s probably going to be in the near future,” Dhami told Vernon Matters.

“Then you’re looking at communities like Lavington or Lumby or Armstrong, kind of the surrounding communities. It leads us to believe it will kind of open those areas up for service before you know it.”

Uride launched in Vernon with a promo code that gave riders a discount on their first ride and entered them into a draw for $250, which Dhami said went to a very frequent user who was very happy to win the cash.

The company also operates in Nanaimo and Prince George, and Dhami told Vernon Matters the company plans to begin operations in Penticton sometime in the summer, though an exact date has yet to be established as they are currently looking for drivers.