ANDREW Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party, on Thursday welcomed the release of the all-party committee report on ride hailing. The committee was struck after Weaver introduced a Private Member’s Bill to enable ride hailing in B.C. for the third time last fall.

“This report represents exactly how our legislature should work: Members from all parties examining the evidence, engaging with the public and stakeholders and collaborating constructively towards a consensus,” said Weaver.

“The recommendations in this report should provide government with a useful guide towards a regulatory regime that all parties can support. It is essential that B.C.’s regulatory regime include considerations for public safety, workers’ rights, consumer protection and insurance. The government is also undertaking an effort to modernise the taxi industry – this can and should be done concurrently with the introduction of ride hailing.

“Earlier today, Abacus Data released a poll indicating that 64% of British Columbians support bringing in ride-hailing by the end of this year. Only 9% of British Columbians are opposed. 6 years after ride-hailing companies first attempted to enter the B.C. market, Vancouver remains the largest city in North America without access to this service.

“Government has all the pieces it needs to move forward. There is no reason why B.C. should not have ride-hailing by the end of the year.”