Ride-hailing thrives in B.C. — if you speak Chinese
Whenever Arthur Chen is running late for class at Simon Fraser University, he knows he’s just a few swipes and finger taps away from getting a ride.
Even though ride-sharing services like Uber are not currently sanctioned in the province, that hasn’t stopped competitors from setting up throughout B.C.’s Lower Mainland. Catering mostly to Chinese-speaking clientele, the companies operating in the shadows bear names like Raccoon Go, Udi Kuaiche and Dingdang Carpool and advertise on the popular Chinese-language social media platform, WeChat.
“There’s plenty of choices. … I will see which one is faster and which one is cheaper,” Chen said.
While users like Chen see convenience and savings, regulators see cause for concern. Over the past six months, B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has issued two public advisories warning about the “illegal operation of passenger directed vehicles,” which officials say have been detected across Metro Vancouver and the Victoria area.
Besides Raccoon Go, Udi Kuaiche and Dingdang, the ministry has identified Longmao, U Drop, Gokabu and AO Rideshare among the other violators. “All of these apps are Chinese-language apps,” the ministry said in a statement this week.
Because app companies are technically not doing anything illegal, authorities say they have been focusing their enforcement efforts on drivers. To date, the province says it has issued over 20 cease-and-desist orders and over 30 tickets, each costing drivers $1,150.
Much of the enforcement has been centred in Richmond, where more than half the population is ethnically Chinese, according to census figures. So far this year, city inspectors have issued 57 tickets — totalling $21,850 — to 19 drivers for operating a business without a licence, failing to display a chauffeur’s permit and failing to display a tariff card, a spokesman said.
Richmond RCMP issued tickets to seven of those drivers for not having sufficient insurance, driving with an invalid licence, failing to display an “N” sticker to denote they are a new driver, and driving without consideration for others.
Mohan Kang, president of the B.C. Taxi Association, said he appreciates the enforcement efforts because the underground industry has created unfair competition.
“When there are two teams playing, they have to play by the same rules. How can you compete on an even playing field?” he said.
Also, drivers have not been properly vetted, potentially creating hazards, Kang said. “Any Joe who wants to be a driver, how do you know they’re a safe person?”
But whether the crackdown is having the desired effect is hard to say. The province says it is confident the fines being issued to drivers are a “sufficient deterrent.”
A Richmond city staff report dated Jan. 23 stated: “Staff have identified five or six apps that can be accessed by the public to hail vehicles which are operating as illegal taxicabs. … While enforcement operations have been successful in the short term (drivers have been stopped and ticketed), it is too early to determine if these operations will have long term success and prevent drivers from entering the illegal market.”