A Canadian ridesharing company is now operating in Kelowna.
Uride has been in movement since Thursday.
“It’s been super energizing, people are excited, our drivers are excited. This has been needed for a long time here, we’re just excited to come in to try and make a difference,” mentioned Cody Ruberto, Uride’s CEO.
“It’s been great. Our average pick-up time has been less than 10 minutes.”
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Uride hails from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Operators say since they started in a smaller market, they’re assured their providers will match the wants of individuals in Kelowna.
“This is an alternative for people. They can take Uride and it should be cheaper than taxis, and we are really focused on our pickup times,” mentioned Ruberto.
“We want to be when you click our button, you automatically get paired with a driver and you have someone on the way, We want to ensure wait times are low and you always have a safe ride.”
As for a way conventional taxi corporations really feel concerning the transfer, a driver with Kelowna Cabs mentioned it will likely be attention-grabbing to see how the competitors unfolds.
“We’re just going to sit back and see how it goes, because there is only a certain population here and only so many people need rides,” mentioned Roy Paulson, a Kelowna Cabs’ driver.
“As far as we are concerned, we have enough taxis with not just Kelowna Cabs but all the cabs as a whole with the taxi business.”
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It’s not the primary time a ridesharing company has tried to function in Kelowna, so we requested Uride the way it was capable of get licensing to function in the town, since its proved so troublesome in the previous.
“It was really, really hard for us to get started,” mentioned Ruberto. “The amount of paperwork and going back and forth was insane.”
Uride is adamant its focus is to offer secure transportation for individuals, with its major intention on stopping impaired driving.
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