Ripe Rides receives provincial approval to pick up passengers, but City of Vancouver remains an obstacle

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      A Vancouver-based digital-dispatch transportation company has been awarded 20 licences to provide mid-level luxury car service.

      But Ripe Rides still faces a significant hurdle because there's a moratorium on new vehicle-for-hire licences in the City of Vancouver.

      And the ruling by the Passenger Transportation Board only gives the company six months to activate half of its 20 licences, "working through the City of Vancouver to fulfill all safety and business license requirements to become fully operational as soon as possible".

      Ripe Rides cofounder Otis Perrick told the Georgia Straight by phone that he felt "exuberant excitement" over the Passenger Transportation Board decision.

      "We've been working on this for the past two years, so definitely we're excited to see everything come together," he said. "But we also know that's one hurdle and a few more to go."

      In late March, Vancouver city council voted unanimously to extend the moratorium on licences. This was done to give 50 stakeholders in the Vancouver Taxi Roundtable time to achieve a consensus on a range of issues, including flat-rate fares, centralized dispatch, and bike racks.

      This came a couple of weeks after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling upheld the city's authority not to issue new taxi licences for 38 suburban cabs. They had already received permits from the Passenger Transportation Service to provide weekend service in downtown Vancouver.

      Ripe Rides' app can be accessed through smartphones and gives customers accurate wait and trip times, as well as revealing the cost based GPS information on how long the ride would take.

      In addition, Ripe Rides will allow its drivers to be rated by customers and those ratings would be made public for other customers to see before ordering a vehicle. Drivers would also be able to rate passengers.

      Last month, Perrick told the Straight that his company's rates would fall between those charged by limousines and taxis.

      Perrick noted that his company has been approved by the provincial regulator to provide point-to-point service across the Lower Mainland in the luxury-car category, which means he's not offering taxi service. 

      But without licences from the City of Vancouver, Ripe Rides cannot legally operate within the city's boundaries.

      Perrick acknowledged that this creates a predicament.

      "We’ll operate in any city that’s got open arms and is forward thinking," he said. "I truly believe Vancouver is a forward-thinking city with a tech-savvy audience. This new product is ripe and ready for what Vancouver is looking for.”

      He added that he's been invited to the next meeting of the Vancouver Taxi Roundtable, which includes taxi companies, other transportation firms, and tourism-industry officials.

      Comments

      3 Comments

      Grammar

      Apr 30, 2015 at 9:36am

      "But without licences from the City of Vancouver, Ripe Rides cannot legally pick operate within the city's boundaries."

      Bill Barilko

      May 1, 2015 at 7:46am

      Why don't these operations start up in Surrey?

      Lots of people needing rides and everything is quite spread out must be some money to be made there somewhere/somehow.

      Steve y

      May 1, 2015 at 5:44pm

      it is time for the cov to put up or shut up. They have been blaming the uber fiasco on the province this whole time. If they block ripe we know it's just because they are all corrupt. If they give a flying twig about sustainability or congestion they will give ripe carte Blanche to operate in the city.