We need ride-hailing as other transportation options lacking

The lack of transportation options in Metro Vancouver has me concerned. My family lives on the outer edge of a suburban bus line where once-per-hour late-night bus service requires careful planning and accurate bus schedules for connections that need to happen. There was a time when taking a taxi home was a simple phone call away, but I have now heard too many stories of cab drivers refusing to take passengers to the suburbs.

If my two university-student children chose not to drink and drive, they could be stuck if they missed the last bus. I suppose they could drive and not drink, if they actually had a car to drive, but insurance for a young driver is well out of reach for many young people, and parents who want to add them to their insurance under the new system may no longer be able to afford it. If we cannot get ride-hailing up and running in this city, then maybe it’s time to create a requirement for cab drivers to take passengers to wherever they need to go within the Metro area. Taxi drivers don’t want the competition, but some of them aren’t even providing the service. We need more options and ride-hailing fills a need. Other large cities have figured out how to do this, so why can’t we? Tami Copland, North Vancouver