Ride-sharing giant Uber has been cleared by the Province of Manitoba to start business in March of 2018.
The question now is how can this effect citizens of Brandon and surrounding area? We already have Skip the Dishes, and AIRBNB, so you would have to assume that Uber has Brandon on their radar.
The actual ruling is the Province of Manitoba has enabled legislation that would allow the City of Winnipeg to consider Uber and perhaps Lyft (US competitor to Uber). The current taxi industry was controlled and governed by the Province’s Taxi Board which they will be disbanding in the future.
According to Mayor Chrest “So far Brandon has not had any overtures from any ride-sharing services but based on our current by-laws they could be considered under the same terms, conditions, and standards as other taxis. Changes to our by-law are not currently before our Council and the changes in Provincial legislation I don’t believe impact our by-law. Brandon has a significantly higher number of taxis per capita than does Winnipeg. Brandon’s by-law focuses on safety and consistent rates with respect to the public and the industry alike”.
4 Way Taxi refused to comment to BDNMB.CA, however, Brandon’s Barrie Roney whom currently works with Lady Gaga and other major musical acts has informed bdnmb.ca “once you use Uber you will never ride in a traditional taxi again…vehicle is cleaner, smells better, and much friendly drivers overall”.
Winnipeg website chrisd.ca publish polls that show 65% of people polled were in favor of Uber.
https://www.chrisd.ca/2017/10/25/uber-poll-nanos-research-winnipeg/#.Wg1EALQ-dVw
If Uber comes to Brandon in 2018 or 2019 you can apply online to be a driver. You will need a vehicle that is less than 7 years old and has a class 4 driver’s license.
