It could be a Green Christmas for those awaiting ride-hailing in Whistler and Tofino during the holidays.

The Passenger Transportation Board on Monday announced it has approved an application from Green Coast Ventures to provide ride-hailing in the Lower Mainland, Whistler and Vancouver Island outside of the Capital Regional District.

The company says it will focus on the resort areas of Whistler-Squamish-Pemberton-Lillooet and Tofino-Ucluelet. Expansion plans include Courtenay-Mt. Washington and Parksville-Qualicum.

Uber and Lyft still await a decision from the transportation board.

Green Coast told the board that the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino gets about 25 ride-hailing requests a day, the Wolf in the Fog restaurant in Tofino gets about 30, while the Nicklaus North Golf Course at Whistler calls for more than 20 taxis a day but that even when phoning an hour ahead, taxi companies can’t meet the demand.

“First-year fleet size goals are 15 vehicles for (Tofino-Ucluelet) and 30 vehicles in (Whistler),” the board said in its decision to award Green Coast its licence.

“Green Coast relies on (founder Dylan) Green’s previous experience operating a transportation company and knowledge of resort communities to establish that it is fit, proper and capable.”

Green started Tofino Bus Services 16 years ago with one vehicle, growing to 30 by the time he sold his company to Wilson’s Group in 2018. He could not be reached to comment on when his service will be running.

The decision points to the “significant peaks and valleys” resort communities experience in transportation demands depending on tourist seasons and holidays, and noted Green Coast’s unique app, Whistle, which focuses on resort towns.

“Passengers may also choose to share their ride, aiming to reduce fares for locals who often have to commute from outside of town to work,” the company said in its application.

The board turned down an application from another company, LTG Technologies, to operate in the Capital Regional District and the rest of Vancouver Island, and in the Interior (Okanagan, Kootenays, Boundary and Cariboo).

“A business plan requires documentation on the market for the proposed product or service,” the board decision on LTG says. “The only market information contained in LTG’s business plan consists of a few references to the global market for ride sharing. There is no information on the market for ride-hailing in the areas in which LTG proposes to operate. … The directors of LTG do not have experience in operating a passenger transportation business.”

The decisions were made after a careful review of the extensive materials received during the application process which included the supporting information provided by the applicants and submissions from interested members of the public, which included information from experts, the board said.

The next step for Green Coast is to secure appropriate insurance and to work with municipalities to ensure compliance with local bylaws, the transport board said.

Claire Trevena, the transportation minister, said she welcomes the announcement.

“People want to see ride-hailing vehicles on the road as soon as possible,” she said. “We are hoping to hear of more decisions in the very near future.”

The transport board is an independent licensing tribunal and continues to review the remaining 22 ride-hailing applications that have been submitted to it so far, a spokesman said.

gordmcintyre@postmedia.com

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