B.C.’s Minister of Transportation has a dire warning for illegal ride-hailing services operating in Burnaby, saying they are receiving tips on these apps and they have an enforcement plan.
“I would say those engaging in this industry, there will be significant penalties that will really impact their ability to ever work in the ground transportation industry and they should cease doing it immediately,” Rob Fleming recently told the Glacier Media.
And it is the drivers who will bear the consequences of fines for driving without a business licence, proper insurance and other irregularities.
In the past two years, Burnaby RCMP members have teamed up with other agencies, such as the Passenger Transportation Board, to operate a series of stings that have netted tens of thousands of dollars from illegal ride-hailing drivers.
Martin van den Hemel, the communications director for Richmond-based ride hailing company KABU, made an appeal at a meeting of the City of Burnaby's public safety committee in November 2021.
“We believe it’s only a matter of time before something dire happens involving one of these international students,” he said.
He described a “flourishing” illegal ride-hailing industry that specifically targets international students. He said unlicensed services, including Raccoon Go, Longmao and UdiX, transport as many as 2,000 students a day in Burnaby, Richmond and Vancouver.
Because their services aren’t licensed, van den Hemel said the drivers don’t have proper commercial vehicle insurance, their vehicles haven’t necessarily met vehicle safety standards and they “aren’t properly vetted, trained, monitored or disciplined.”
“Hundreds of Class 5 drivers who are not properly vetted or insured or provided with any meaningful safety training or other supports are providing transportation services to children, teenagers and young adults,” van den Hemel said.
On top of the proper driver’s licence, ride-hailing drivers must also undergo a vulnerable-persons criminal record check.
Furthermore, the ride-hailing company needs to have insurance to cover accidents. ICBC warns passengers who use illegal ride-hailing that the vehicle “may not have the required insurance to protect passengers in the event of a crash.”
On its app, Racoon Go has branded itself as the “leading ride-hailing company” in North America, with drivers in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and Coquitlam. It has also launched moving and chauffeur services.
It states it’s looking for “good-tempered and excellent drivers," offering $5,000 in monthly salary and benefits.
Longmao says on its website potential drivers need a valid driver’s licence, a car not more than eight years old and a smart phone.
UDI-X claims its fees are low and its drivers have gone through a background check.
Fleming said that while he’d rather defer to the minister of public safety on the issue, there are “a number of investigations underway,” with crackdowns involving ICBC and the Passenger Transportation Board.
“Enforcement strategies are being pursued to make sure that that risk to the travelling public is dealt with,” he added.
- With reporting by Cornelia Naylor of the NOW, and Maria Rantanen and Nono Shen, Richmond News
