Lyft and Uber Are Finally Operating in Vancouver

After a long long time , Vancouver and the province has finally approved Uber and Lyft to operate this week.

Vancouver was the only large metropolis in North America where Uber and Lyft were pretty much outlawed and unable to operate.

British Columbia’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena has blamed the old government for stalling so long:

British Columbians have been asking for new ride hailing services since 2012, but the old government failed to get it done. Our government did the hard work and delivered.

Over the last two years, our government has been diligent in developing a framework that puts passenger safety first, and we remained steadfast against pressures to abandon the safety measures we put in place. Road users can now be confident that B.C.’s ride-hailing services will comply with some of the highest safety standards in North America.

Claire Trevena

BC Minister of Transportation

While a lot of users took to twitter to share their joy

Just saw my first @Uber in the wild in #Vancouver. It's real y'all! So happy that we no longer have to rely on the Vancouver taxi cartels to get us around.
— daniel crough (@hellodcro) January 25, 2020

… while some were not so pleased:

My father reported cars illegally parked all over downtown Vancouver today in bus zones. Making his job more dangerous for pedestrians & passengers. Any bets a lot were Uber & Lyft drivers waiting for bookings? The congestion & externalized costs on the public sphere have begun.
— Matthew Laird (@matthewlaird) January 26, 2020

Uber and Lyft were ecstatic to be able to operate again in Vancouver.

Lyft and Uber are almost identically priced, Uber seems cheaper when we tried to get a quote to go to the famous Phnom Penh Restaurant from the airport: $24-$30 with Uber vs $30-$35 with Lyft. If you decide to take the same ride from airport with taxi, it will cost you the most, around $37.

While Uber said it will cover the whole metro area , Lyft said that for now it will be just sticking to the core of the city.

Area Where Uber Operates in Vancouver

Area Where Lyft Operates

For now, Uber and Lyft are the only two companies that are allowed to operate in Vancouver but BC Transportation Ministry said that they will be approving other ride sharing companies soon.