Lyft approved to begin providing rides in Winnipeg

Winnipeggers have another option when they need to get somewhere after the City of Winnipeg approved the ride-hailing service Lyft to operate.

It joins Uber and a number of small local app-based services providing rides and accounting for a growing proportion of trips taken each year.

Grant Heather, vehicles-for-hire manager for the city, says the addition of Lyft will increase competition in the local market.

"Adding competition is always good for an industry," he said in an interview.

"It gives more choice for customers and allows more options for drivers. And you know, I think any time we can do that, as a city, drives down price and builds customer service, so that's always a benefit and a win for the customers."

Lyft completed the licensing process to begin operating in the city near the end of September, but they will need time to hire and train drivers before they can begin providing rides, Heather said.

A spokesperson for Lyft, in an email to CBC News, said drivers can begin applying to work for the company.

More people in Winnipeg are using ride-sharing services and taxis to get around, the city said.

The number of vehicle-for-hire trips taken each year rose from 6.68 million in 2022 to 8.88 million in 2023, the city said. The city forecasts there will be more than 10 million trips this year.

"Whether that's a fact of the cost of owning a vehicle, whether it's the ease of being able to get a trip these days based on how flexible things are … and changing attitudes amongst younger users," Heather said.

In 2022, taxis provided about two-thirds of all trips in Winnipeg, while ride-hailing services made up the other third. Last year, they were nearly evenly split, with ride-hailing services accounting for 48 per cent of all trips and taxis the other 52 per cent.

All vehicle-for-hire drivers must go through accessible customer service training, as part of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, as well as Indigenous building-cultural-competency training, which the city, taxi companies and other personal transportation providers have been working on for about the past year, Heather said.

That training can be taken after the drivers begin working, he said.

A list of all licensed ride dispatchers is available on the City of Winnipeg website.