RedRide looks to bring ride-booking to P.E.I.

In many areas of the world taxis are sharing the road with rides you book with a tap on your phone, and a new P.E.I.-based company is now aiming to bring ride-booking to P.E.I.

As with Uber and Lyft, RedRide will operate entirely through an app. No cash will change hands, and you won't be able to flag RedRide down on the street like you can with a taxi. RedRide co-owner Matt MacLeod said that makes his company different from traditional taxis, but he adds that doesn't mean if you call for a RedRide you won't get a taxi.

"We totally welcome them. We're not putting plans to put any restrictions in place that would say you couldn't be a driver with us as well as your taxi stand," said MacLeod.

"These taxi drivers already have the proper commercial licence. Their vehicles are up to the standards of the Charlottetown specific bylaw, so there's nothing to say that they couldn't benefit from having more rides through our service."

A long walk home

Warren Grove resident Lindsay Moore would like to see the service operating soon.

Moore said she doesn't go to downtown Charlottetown late at night on the weekend anymore. In the past she's had to walk close to two hours to get home, or has hitchhiked rides from strangers because she couldn't get a cab.

She's stopped doing that because she knows it's not safe.

"If it doesn't get solved, definitely locals like me, it stops me from going out because I worry about not being able to get home," she said.

"People that come to visit in the summer, it stops them from wanting to come back if they have a bad experience about not being able to get home."

Police support for rideshare

Charlottetown police deputy chief Brad MacConnell said the situation hasn't gotten any better after a taxi review in late 2017.

He agrees a ride-booking service could help, but thinks its hours should be restricted to nighttime when there are usually cab shortages.

Cab companies contacted by CBC News say they're doing the best they can to make sure people can get a ride home. But it's difficult, they say, to hire new drivers to cover off those very busy late night weekend hours and keep them working the rest of the week.

Before RedRide can put drivers on the road, MacLeod said, the province has to introduce legislation so this type of business can be insured. The company is hoping to be operational in the next few months.

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