Hyperlocal ridehailing cheaper than Uber is coming to Vancouver | Daily Hive

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Vancouver is getting a new ridehailing service soon started by a local that will keep money in the pockets of riders and drivers.

After three years of preparation, Apt Rides is now recruiting drivers in anticipation of starting operations.

Because this is a hyperlocal company, all the profits are expected to stay here in the Lower Mainland rather than lining the pockets of multinational corporations.

For riders, that means lower fares compared to Uber and Lyft, and for drivers, it means a larger share of fares earnings, according to the company.

Apt Rides was founded by Garri Parhar, a taxi industry veteran from the North Shore and the former owner of Resort Cabs in Whistler.

Garri Parhar founded Apt Rides, available on the App Store and Google Play

“The process, from being approved by the B.C. Passenger Transportation Board in February 2020, to getting the licences and permits required from all levels of government and ICBC was tedious, so we couldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Parhar.

“We are onboarding and recruiting drivers right now with the plan of a soft launch later this month.”

“As a startup, our driver availability will not compare as well to the larger multi-national companies. However, through the advantages that we offer drivers, we hope to be able to recruit enough to get to the point where we can be in the small ballpark as those companies towards the end of the year,” said Parhar.

Better for drivers

In February 2022, drivers for Uber and Lyft gathered in Vancouver to protest working conditions and poor pay.

This is just beginning @CBCVancouver @CTVVancouver @Gurjanttakhar1 @hardeep271982 @harjindersthind @HKailley75 @ReahArora @Uber_Canada @redfmvancouver @connectfmcanada @captain_ironic @VancouverSun pic.twitter.com/7CK4JLu4LB

— Kuljeet Singh (@Kuljeet123r) February 23, 2023

If drivers could keep a larger share of fares, it could have a big impact on the community.

“The drivers that know about what our company offers are very excited about the prospects of driving on our platform,” said Parhar.

“We encourage those working on the other platforms to check out our company as well. We started our driver recruitment campaign last week and plan on offering drivers great promotional incentives to give the Apt Rides platform a shot.”

Better for passengers

What you see will be what you get with Apt Rides.

“The price you see when booking a ride includes all service fees, government fees, and taxes. The competition add these prices to the amount you pay at the end of the ride,” said Parhar.

Also, rates will on average be 5% to 7% cheaper than Uber and Lyft.

“With Apt Rides, ‘Surge’ rates have a human component. We do not strictly rely on an algorithm to determine how much to increase rates. We have guidelines which tell us how much we should increase rates but any ‘surge’ in pricing must be manually approved by myself in our system before it is enabled.”

“This allows the company to control rates at the high end to ensure that we aren’t gouging customers,” said Parhar.

Would you try a local alternative to Uber and Lyft? You can download the Apt Rides app on Google Play and on the App Store now.

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