Ridesharing service in the works: Therrien
No interest from Uber or Lyft, but a local startup wants to start service
There could be ridesharing in Peterborough in early 2020, says Mayor Diane Therrien — although she expects a local startup called Y Drive to be the first to offer the service here, rather than a large company like Uber or Lyft.
“It’s been a really long time coming,” said Therrien. “Myself and other people on council get asked about it all the time.”
Y Drive, run by Erica Young and Robert Davidson, is a service which helps people collect their vehicle and have it driven home after a night out.
Their app, which launched in August, allows customers to book pickups, and offers van trips to Pearson Airport.
The entrepreneurs told Peterborough This Week in September they want to offer ridesharing, too.
That could happen soon, since new rules to govern ridesharing could be reviewed by the police services board early in January.
City council voted earlier this year to delegate the authority to license, regulate and govern the owners and drivers of ride-hailing services to the Peterborough Police Services Board (the board also oversees taxi and limo services).
A first draft of a new bylaw to allow ridesharing is expected to come before the police board on Jan. 7, said board member Ken East at a meeting Tuesday.
“There’s some urgency to this — some want to get on with ridesharing,” East told the police board.
Therrien — who is on the
board and was at the meeting Tuesday — said in an interview that city solicitor David Potts has written a draft bylaw, and the police board’s lawyer has reviewed it.
But Therrien also said she hasn’t heard any interest from larger companies such as Uber to come to Peterborough.
She last spoke to those companies about eight months ago, she said, and at the time they were not yet interested in smaller markets such as Peterborough.
But that could change as the city makes rules to allow ridehailing services, Therrien said: she also noted that the fooddelivery service Uber Eats is in Peterborough now, too, so they are established here.
Therrien said it would have been ideal to have ridesharing service in the city in time for the holiday season, but she’s glad to see it coming soon.
Therrien has been eager to welcome ride-sharing into the city — her campaign platform included a promise to encourage programs such as Uber and Lyft to come to the city.
Last year, the board approved a plan to allow cab companies to charge 23 per cent more in their fares, starting Jan. 1, 2019, after a decade of no increases.
The police board heard several complaints from citizens after the increase was implemented, including one about a $60 cab ride to take a 12-kilometre round trip to a grocery store.
— With files from Taylor Clysdale