‘Halifax Is Now Open For Ridesharing,’ Says Uber Rep After Provincial Licensing Changes
HALIFAX — The provincial government has changed its licensing requirements for taxi drivers and people driving for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.
The province today established a new, restricted Class 4 license that does away with requirements for drivers to retake their road and knowledge tests when they upgrade.
In Nova Scotia, Class 4 licenses allow you to transport people for money. They are a step above the Class 5 licenses most recreational drivers use and require extra testing and a medical exam.
Today’s change removes some of that extra testing. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Lloyd Hines says the change will simplify the licensing process.
“Making it easier to do business is an important step toward providing Nova Scotians with more transportation options,” Hines said in a news release. “The changes should help open the sector to healthy competition [and] reduce unnecessary regulatory burden.”
Hines said the changes balance business growth and passenger safety, something that is “especially important in our rapidly growing metro areas and in underserviced areas across rural Nova Scotia.”
The change from the province comes two days after the Halifax Regional Municipality adopted a package of new rules laying out how companies like Uber and Lyft can operate in the city.
Halifax residents have been clamoring for ride-hailing services for years, but Uber and Lyft haven’t moved into the city, largely because of what the companies see as restrictive licensing laws.
Today’s licensing changes from the province appear to have changed that.
“With today’s announcement by the provincial government, Halifax is now open for ridesharing,” read a statement on the changes Uber sent to Huddle.
The statement applauded the province and city of Halifax for their cooperation and said Uber “looks forward to sharing more about our local plans with Haligonians in the very near future.“
Lyft appeared similarly happy with the news.
“The City of Halifax and the Ministry of Transportation have demonstrated how intently they’ve been listening to all stakeholders with these new amendments,” read a statement that Lyft sent to Huddle.
The statement said the move represents “a milestone” to help get ridesharing to Nova Scotia and that Lyft is “exploring [its] options for bringing Lyft to more communities in Canada.”
Province Won’t Allow Per-Trip Fees
While Lyft and Uber now appear poised to enter the Halifax market, they will be doing so under a set of rules many on the Regional Council won’t be happy with.
The majority of the council wants to charge a small fee on every trip taken with a ride-hailing service.
A per-trip fee would help offset the environmental impact of ride-hailing services on city roads. However, the city can’t charge one unless the province makes changes to the Motor Vehicle Act.
Council has asked for those changes, but as of Tuesday’s meeting hadn’t received a clear answer about when or if that will happen.
Now, it appears, it won’t
“The province has no plans to change legislation. A per-trip fee would increase costs and undue administrative burden on ride-hailing companies. The goal of this regulation is to reduce red tape while maintaining safety,” provincial government spokesperson Megan Tonet told Huddle today.