Ontario-based Uride is preparing to launch a ride-hailing service in Nanaimo this month.
The company, which recently established services in Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops, said it has begun recruiting drivers.
Nanaimo residents can already download the Uride application on their smartphones.
Ravi Dhami, Uride’s operations manager for western Canada, said in a statement that existing transportation options don’t provide Nanaimo residents or visitors “the service that they both need and deserve.”
“Our goal is to come into Nanaimo to fill that void and make sure that no-one has to worry about whether or not they will be able to find a ride.”
The company, which is based in Thunder Bay, has been operating since 2017 and was given approval to operate in B.C., outside the Lower Mainland, by the Passenger Transportation Board in 2021.
Uride’s initial application to the board in 2019 was refused. At the time, the board, an independent tribunal that considers applications for taxi, bus, limousine and ride-hailing services, said Uride’s business plan failed to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the passenger transportation business in this province.
