Uber political games leave public on curb

Listening to Premier John Horgan complain how hard it is to bring the Uber ride-sharing service to B.C., you’d think it was the thorniest problem this side of the Mideast.

Vancouver now has the dubious distinction of being the largest North American city that still bans Uber, Lyft and other popular ridefor-hire services.

Horgan promised to rectify that during the spring election, when he said an NDP government would support “the passing of new rules to introduce ride-sharing in 2017.”

Now he says the issue is more complicated than he thought. The government has ordered yet another review, and won’t make a decision until well into next year.

Don’t kid yourself. The government isn’t delaying because ridefor-hire is so “complicated.” This is a stalling tactic by a government beholden to the taxi monopoly.

But this is the same John Horgan who has preached endlessly about doing politics differently, especially in a minority parliament.

When Horgan and Green party Leader Andrew Weaver teamed up to topple Christy Clark’s former Liberal government, they both talked about a new era of cross-party co-operation.

Any political party in the legislature would be free to put forward their best ideas, they said. And there was no reason an opposition party couldn’t get its own bills passed into law.

Now it’s time for all the politicians to put their lofty words into action, and put the public ahead of their own political scheming.

Weaver is the most pro-Uber MLA at the legislature. On Thursday, he will table a private-member’s bill to let Uber and other ride-sharing companies start operating.

The bill contains critical safeguards for the public: Ride-forhire drivers must submit to criminal-background checks and be fully insured. Their vehicles must undergo regular safety inspections.

Also in the bill: Vehicles must be accessible to disabled people and service animals. Ride-sharing companies must pay a registration fee to the province, which would be shared with the municipalities where they operate.

It’s all common-sense stuff, and there’s no reason the legislature can’t get down to work and approve ride-sharing in time for Christmas.

“It’s not rocket science,” Weaver correctly said Wednesday.

The B.C. Liberal Party also supports Uber and could team up with the Greens to pass the bill into law.

Just one problem: Only the NDP government can call Weaver’s bill for debate in the legislature. And that would require the New Democrats to put the public ahead of their own politics.

It’s time for all of them to put up or shut up about making this minority parliament work for the people. It’s time for ride-sharing in B.C., and it’s time to get it done right now.