Prince George's first ride-hailing service is now up and running.
With four drivers on its roster, Coastal Rides began accepting clients on Monday. Owner Ryan Staley said it had been a quiet opening day as of early afternoon, but added plenty of people have downloaded the app used to get a ride, found at www.coastalrides.ca, and a few have scheduled trips for Tuesday.
Launching the service had been delayed somewhat as not only did Staley have to get a business licence from the city, but so did each of the drivers.
He said about a dozen more people have shown enough interest in becoming drivers to begin the process of securing all the qualifications. Drivers must have a commercial driving license, clean police and driving records, and a vehicle that is no more than 10 years old.
Those who work full-time will be offered such benefits as extended medical and disability insurance.
Based in Sechelt, Coastal Rides has been operating on the lower Sunshine Coast and in the
Comox Valley on Vancouver Island since late February. Staley is also working to expand the business into Powell River this summer.
Prince George Taxi manager Sam Kuuluvainen is taking the new competition in stride.
"A lot of our guys aren't that worried about it because you have to use the (Coast Rides) app with the credit card registered in the app," he said, added Prince George Taxi also has an app but it brings in only a small percentage of its business.
The rates charged by the two are "fairly similar," he added.
