Lyft expects BC operation license to clear in next "2 to 3 weeks"
After successfully applying to the Passenger Transportation Board for a license to operate in BC last month, ride-hailing company Lyft said he expects those applications to clear “in the next two to three weeks.”
That’s the latest from Peter Lukomskyj, General Manager of Lyft BC, who told Daily Hive this week, that setting up a business operation such as Lyft in BC has been a “fascinating” process.
“We are so excited about bringing this level of positive change to the area,” he said.
- See also:
In the meantime, Lukomskyj said that “hundreds and hundreds” have signed up for Class 4 training (required for ride-hailing drivers in BC) that the company has offered, in partnership with Valley Driving School.
“It is a process,” he said. “Those are not people who will not be driving tomorrow — or even in a couple of weeks, but they are going through the process of getting their Class 4 and then signing up to drive.”
As for the number of drivers customers can expect to see on the roads once Lyft is in operation, Lukomskyj said he couldn’t talk about that specifically, “because driver numbers really depend on a number of different things and things that we weigh and balance when we set up our operations.”
Lukomskyj said that looking at things the company still needs to go through include “making sure we have that provincial license.”
Then, “once we have that provincial license, apply for all the municipal licenses that we need, and then essentially decide where and when to launch.”
As for a specific launch date, Lukomskyj called it “one of those ambiguous things in the business that I’m not sure prepared to give.”
At this point, he said the company still has “some different regulations that we need to clear, and some business decisions to make.”
Beyond that, “we’re very committed to bringing a very high level of service to BC, and we really want Lower Mainlanders and people in Metro Vancouver to really see the potential that this can bring to the community, and we want to make sure that we land right.”
