At its March 17 meeting, council unanimously approved a bylaw that would allow it, alongside other Lower Mainland municipalities, to regulate business licenses given to ride-hailing operators like Uber and Lyft.
Council passed three readings of this bylaw. It still has to have final approval at a future council meeting.
The regulation is called an "Inter-municipal Transportation Network Services Business Licence Bylaw."
It would allow ride-hailing companies to operate in all the municipalities that have signed onto the bylaw, provided they get a business licence from a designated provider.
According to the deal, the City of Vancouver will collect all licence fees to cover the costs. The remaining money will be shared based on the percent of total regional pick-ups and drop-offs that occur within each municipality.
Fees are broken down as follows:
• $150 for each vehicle;
• $30 for each zero-emission vehicle;
• $0 for each wheelchair accessible vehicle
Twenty-five municipalities throughout the Lower Mainland region have signed onto this agreement.