Close X
Saturday, November 2, 2024
ADVT 
National

Kater Seeks Southern B.C. Ride-Hail Licenses By Winter, Rest Of B.C. By 2020

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Sep, 2019 08:56 PM

    VANCOUVER - Ride-hailing company Kater Technologies says it has officially applied for a licence that would allow it to operate in every region of British Columbia.

     

    A statement from the company says B.C. is one of the last areas of North America without ride-hailing and the province now has an opportunity to introduce the service in the "right way."

     

    Kater CEO Scott Larson says the company hopes to launch operations across Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo and the Okanagan by this winter, with operations in other B.C. regions rolling out over the next 12 months.

     

    Kater is also proposing a system of pricing that would slide from a minimum of 90 per cent of current taxi rates to a maximum of 200 per cent, a range it says addresses consumer concerns about prices rising when demand is higher.

     

    Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said last week that eight ride-hailing companies, including Uber, had filed licence applications with the Passenger Transportation Branch of her ministry.

     

    A coalition of nine Vancouver taxi companies has asked the B.C. Supreme Court to quash policies it says were illegally created for ride-hailing, arguing binding guidelines for ride-hailing services should not have been set before individual applications were heard.

     

    Kater's goal is to serve growing consumer demand while improving "inherent downsides" linked to other ride-hailing providers, Larson says in the statement.

     

    The company says it will include approximately 250 wheelchair accessible vehicles in its network and will also use location-based pricing and driver incentives to encourage Kater drivers not to abandon suburban service during peak hours.

     

    "Assuming that the Passenger Transportation Board approves our pricing model, our drivers are projected to earn at least $25 for every hour that they are active on the Kater platform," says the statement.

    Kater addresses congestion and pollution concerns by pledging that no more than 2,000 of its cars will be on the road at any given time.

     

    Its statement says it also intends to integrate taxis into its operating platform, a move the company says will support the taxi services already in operation.

     

    The coalition of Vancouver taxi companies has said new provincial ride-hailing rules amount to "destructive competition" because they allow so-called transportation network services to offer an unlimited number of vehicles in broader geographic areas compared with cabs.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Vancouver Police Arrest A Man Making Threats To Stab And Kill

    Vancouver Police Arrest A Man Making Threats To Stab And Kill
    VPD officers located a suspect nearby, and used a taser and bean-bag shotgun rounds during the arrest. No police or members of the public were injured.

    Vancouver Police Arrest A Man Making Threats To Stab And Kill

    Road Rage Incident: Suspects Sought After Driver Allegedly Bear Sprayed In Burnaby

    Road Rage Incident: Suspects Sought After Driver Allegedly Bear Sprayed In Burnaby
    Burnaby RCMP are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspects of an alleged road rage and assault that occurred on Sunday, July 14th, 2019.

    Road Rage Incident: Suspects Sought After Driver Allegedly Bear Sprayed In Burnaby

    One Man Hospitalized After Homeless Camp Stabbing In Abbotsford

    One Man Hospitalized After Homeless Camp Stabbing In Abbotsford
    On July 28, 2019 around 11:00pm, Abbotsford Police responded to an altercation between two people at a homeless camp on Gladys Ave.

    One Man Hospitalized After Homeless Camp Stabbing In Abbotsford

    HAVE YOU SEEN HER? Surrey RCMP Searching For Missing 12-Year-Old Abigail Scott

    She Has Not Been Seen Since 9 A.m. On July 11 In The 17000-block 64th Avenue In Surrey.  

    HAVE YOU SEEN HER? Surrey RCMP Searching For Missing 12-Year-Old Abigail Scott

    Latest Round In Northern Manitoba Hunt For B.C. Murder Suspects Proves Fruitless

    Latest Round In Northern Manitoba Hunt For B.C. Murder Suspects Proves Fruitless
     A massive police manhunt for two British Columbia homicide suspects has ended without success in a remote Indigenous community in northern Manitoba.

    Latest Round In Northern Manitoba Hunt For B.C. Murder Suspects Proves Fruitless

    Surrey RCMP Ask For Public's Help Identifying Suspect In Groping

    Suspect Described As A South Asian Man, Approximately 30 Years Old, With A Medium Build. Do You Know Him?

    Surrey RCMP Ask For Public's Help Identifying Suspect In Groping