Ride hailing is finally coming to Metro Vancouver – sort of.
Surrey-based Kater Technologies plans to launch its beta testing phase with 30 vehicles hitting City of Vancouver streets March 30, ramping up to 140 cars around the region over six weeks.
Anyone in Burnaby hoping to use the app to arrange a pick will either have to wait or cross Boundary Road when the service first launches.
But come late May, Kater plans to have 19 vehicles operating in Burnaby.
In the meantime, early adopters who register at Kater.com will be able to hail a ride in Vancouver and get dropped off anywhere in the metro area, including in Burnaby, spokesperson Corrie Larson said.
“Like most tech companies, we've decided to scale our launch,” she said. “A scaled approach really is a smart approach. “
The company is getting a headstart on ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft, thanks to its unique business model. Kater struck a deal with the Vancouver Taxi Association last year to secure 140 taxi licences – including 20 via Burnaby-based Bonny’s Taxi.
But Kater owns, operates and insures its own vehicle fleet and employs the drivers, Larson said.
The company has offered as much as $1,635 in sign up bonuses to new drivers to cover the cost of Class 4 licences, Taxi Host Pro training and chauffeur permits – all requirements for both Kater and taxi drivers.
“One of the great things about Kater is we wanted to set our drivers up for success … so they really could start off on a career without incurring any sort of debt,” Larson said.
She said the bonuses are not an indication the company has struggled to recruit employees.
“Our current driver pool is enormous, so there is no difficulty at all looking for or finding drivers,” Larson said.
Ian Tostenson, spokesperson for advocacy group Ridesharing Now, previously told the NOW he didn’t think Kater would be able to provide the kind of service people expect from ride hailing.
He said Kater’s inability to respond to surges in demand like Uber and Lyft will limit its effectiveness. Drivers for those services choose their own hours use their own vehicles, allowing them to flood the streets when demand peaks, incentivized by higher “surge” pricing.
Kater will not deploy surge pricing but will have cars on the road 24/7 by the end of its beta phase, according to CEO Scott Larson.
The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a January statement it was working with a provincial regulator to ensure all current requirements are met, “including a regular, government approved safety inspection of the vehicles, insurance that will cover the carrying of paying passengers and compliance with licence boundaries and other requirements until the fall of 2019 when new regulations will come into force that will allow ride-hailing companies to enter the market.”
The province has come under fire for its slow rollout of ride-hailing services, and Vancouver remains the largest city in North America where Uber and Lyft do not operate.
The B.C. government tabled legislation in November 2018 that would introduce insurance products for ride-hailing companies by fall 2019.
But beyond the introduction of insurance products, Transportation Minister Claire Trevena would not commit to a specific date for launching services.
Instead, she said that burden would fall on the cabinet-appointed provincial regulator, the Passenger Transportation Board, to approve any applications for ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft.
Uber and Lyft have not struck any deals like Kater’s to acquire taxi licences in B.C.
- With files from Tyler Orton, Business in Vancouver
