Port Moody is expected to join Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam in adopting an inter-municipal business licence for ride-hailing services.
At its meeting Tuesday, Port Moody council will consider first three readings of a bylaw to sign onto the streamlined licensing model that will make it easier for the services like Uber and Lyft to operate across the Lower Mainland.
In a report, Port Moody’s manager of building, bylaw and licensing, Robyn MacLeod, said Uber is the only company — of five authorized for Metro Vancouver by the province — currently operating in the city but it’s doing so without a municipal business licence.
The inter-municipal licence will allow ride-hailing companies to get one licence to operate in 32 municipalities from Whistler to Chilliwack as well as Bowen Island. That approach was endorsed at the end of January by the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation.
The licence, which will be issued by the city of Vancouver and comes into effect April 1, costs each company $155 annually plus $150 for each vehicle. A licence for zero-emission vehicles will be only $30 and there’s no fee for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
MacLeod said municipalities want to encourage the participation of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in ride-hailing “as much as possible.”
Revenue from the licensing fees will cover the cost of administrating the program, with any surplus shared between the participating municipalities. Each community’s share will be calculated based on the number of pick-ups and drop-offs in the community.
Port Coquitlam council gave the first three readings of its bylaw to join the regional licensing agreement Feb. 25 and Coquitlam did the same a week later.
