Essay Sample on Uber in Vancouver

Uber has always seen Vancouver as a new market that would open its business prospects in Canada. To ensure that Vancouver enjoys the benefits of riding hailing as early as the provincial TNS permit for companies, it has new ride-hailing rules through the Passenger Transportation Board after a long tussle with Uber and other taxi companies. Once the provincial license has been given, companies can get a metropolitan city license. Uber has always struggled to get into this market due to the municipality rules. This is attributed to the strict regulations are directly opposing some of Uber's main focus, that is, their driver's needs.

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The business permit must be obtained from the provincial government for Uber, Lyft and their smaller competitors. The city of Vancouver requires the Uber, and other ride-hailing companies must obtain operating licenses failure to which they will incur a couple of fees. The city's ride-hailing permit costs 155 dollars annually plus 100 percent per year for each vehicle on the road. Throughout the three days after obtaining a request for a local business license, city staff operate now jointly with ride-hailing firms to ready their business license requests for fast approval.

However, if ride-hailers have the provincial and municipal permits, individual drivers are required by law to pay the government for offering such services. They must go through a couple of extra hurdles which riders in other countries don't have as individual businessmen. Transport and Communications Ministry has confirmed Vancouver. Residents are not permitted to download an app to drive for Uber. Drivers will instead be required to obtain a license in category four and to conduct traffic and vehicle identification tests.

The city acknowledged that it is still a few kinks to iron out before the ride-hails are run smoothly across the Metro Vancouver area. The city is promoting the idea of a centralized regional network. Uber is currently not operating on any territory that calls on a driver to switch his driver's license to a commercial driver's license. Ride-hailing firms such as Uber feel that the onerous requirement to obtain a permit in Class 4 may imply that it is not simple for the company to do business in Vancouver. It is critical to understand that the latter jurisdiction also has professional ride-hailing operators, like the only experience in the United States in that legislation, New York City. The service also exists in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec or Alberta.

There have been little changes to the ride-hailing regulations in Vancouver. However, Uber has been persuading drivers to get class 4 licenses if they had not gotten them already. This persuasion also points to the fact that few individuals are ready to work with Uber in the city (Schneider, 2017). This is, therefore, a disorder that would impede driving in the city. For instance, more regulation requires trained medical professionals to conduct a further medical review as providing additional passenger safety for Class 4 license-holders. The city of Vancouver clamped down on Uber in late 2010 and has the lowest number of taxis per capita in any sizeable Canadian region. It has been confirmed that in May 2019, passengers from cruise ships waited for the taxi at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver for up to 90 minutes and the lineup at one stage was about 600 meters away (Zipper, 2019).

The government-appointed Minister Peter Fassbender earlier this year to advise Uber on the launch in the city. At the moment, Uber released a petition and encouraged people to write on their behalf to municipal and provincial authorities. Today, the movement has almost 70,000 signatures and its target of 75,000 signatures. Vancouver is now one of the only major cities with no taxi driving services from Uber. Tourists are always shocked that the town restricts ride-hailing services. Mobile businesses are observing this weakness, and it is thought to affect growth in the city. The government is expected to do everything possible to ensure the safekeeping of a working green city in Vancouver. Instead, they are breaking down the less legal services for hailing that has come into being to meet legitimate needs. The graph below describes the shifts in gas prices in the city between 2009 and 2018. Gas prices have slowly increased in the town, and most drivers feel that ride-hailing may is not a viable option. Therefore, Uber has been having trouble finding competent drivers for their services.

The city claims that such aggressive regulation is to increase the safety of drivers and passenger. Is it healthy for drivers? Licenses allow you to drive your parents, family, acquaintances, children, coworkers and anybody with you, so the confidence in your drivers is already active. Regulation can protect insurance needs. Uber feels that Vancouver does not impose such rules on regular taxi drivers. However, Uber predicts that Vancouver will eventually need to switch to a ride-hailing system.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Uber issues with Vancouver is not regulation as a whole but the kind of control the city has set up. Vancouver has established a robust transportation network as the last North American holdout that would rival other towns. Uber can increase the system and provide late-night service and reliable transportation for people residing in the outer suburbs while ensuring a healthy competition for local taxis. Nonetheless, innovation could also make Vancouver less attractive and increase traffic pollution, thus moving travellers away from smooth and efficient forms, such as travel and motor-biking.

References

Geal, M. (2019, April 4). This Is How Much Gas Prices Have Risen In Vancouver Since 1995. Retrieved from https://604now.com/gas-prices-in-vancouver-history/

Kunin, R. (2018, February 12). Stuck in traffic: why won't Vancouver embrace Uber? Retrieved from https://troymedia.com/business/vancouver-cant-embrace-uber/

Schneider, H. (2017). Uber: Innovation in Society. Basingstoke, England: Springer.

Zipper, D. (2019, February 4). What's It Like Living in a City Without Uber or Lyft? Ask Vancouver. Retrieved from https://slate.com/business/2019/02/uber-lyft-vancouver-no-ride-hail.html