Kater announces participation in ride-hailing as part of mobility as a service platform
Vancouver: Kater Technologies Inc., a Vancouver based technology company, announced that it will apply to take part in traditional ride-hailing in British Columbia following the provincial government’s announcement earlier this month. Kater will continue to provide its current service using Kater-owned vehicles and licensed cars (Kater cars), and will add traditional ride-hailing (Kater ride-hailing) to the platform as the Provincial regulations come into effect in the Fall of 2019. Kater anticipates that its ride-hail service will launch as a service throughout BC’S main cities by the end of the year.
The addition of traditional ride-hailing to the Kater platform marks the beginning of Kater’s move towards full Mobility-as-a-service (Maas); a fully integrated transportation system where different modes of transportation are connected through one digital platform to help move people seamlessly.
Scott Larson, CEO at Kater comments: “Kater in its current form is the foundation for a larger Maas platform. When fully built out, the Kater intermodal platform will allow users to book a trip that incorporates numerous modes of transport; whether it be Kater vehicles, traditional ride-hailing, buses, ferries, the Skytrain, and car-sharing or bike-sharing services. We are already on a path towards this solution with the Kater app and the addition of traditional ride-hailing in September.”
Larson further elaborates, “Kater’s plan has always been to move to a traditional ride-hailing model in conjunction with our hybrid solution, once Provincial regulations allow for it.” “One app, one ‘boarding pass’ and payment that takes you from the very first to the very last mile; this is what I believe is the future of transportation in Vancouver and in other forward-looking metropolitan cities. We’re excited to put our hat in the ring for ride-hailing as our first step towards this vision.”
Kater ride-hail drivers will use their own vehicles and will be required, as part of the regulations, to hold a Class 4 license. Kater will take safety a step further by requiring its drivers to attend a training course in person, in addition to the required criminal record checks. Kater is currently accepting applications for ride-hailing drivers and encourages interested parties to go to www.kater.com to sign-up and start the application process. Kater looks forward to unveiling its full suite of incentives, all designed to offer its drivers a living wage, advanced safety features, and other industry-leading initiatives. More details will be announced on Kater. com in the coming weeks.