Vancouver's Ride-Hail-Free Mobility Landscape

Vancouver, British Columbia, does not have ride-hailing services, and David Zipper considers how this might have affected transportation trends in the area. Overall, the percentage of residents commuting by transit, walking, and cycling rose between 2013 and 2017, and carsharing is a popular transportation option.

Zipper also notes that ridership on TransLink, Vancouver’s regional transportation network, increased by almost 7 percent in 2018, which is significant as most U.S. transit systems saw ridership decreases.

Still, ride-hailing will likely be coming to Vancouver soon, with many residents supporting legislation that would legalize it. "FOMO may be playing a role; [Andrew] McCurran notes that many Vancouverites have tried ride-hailing elsewhere and don’t understand why they can’t use it at home," writes Zipper.

Vancouver policymakers are also looking at measures—such as a cap on the number of ride-hail vehicles and a per-ride tax—to alleviate the difficulties other cities have faced in integrating this mode into their larger transportation systems.