Uride has applied to the Transportation Safety Board to operate in the Tournament Capital, the ridesharing company has confirmed to KamloopsMatters.
Founder and CEO Cody Ruberto says all the paperwork has been submitted to the province, and it'll be about four to eight weeks before a decision is made.
Uride launched in Thunder Bay, Ont. in April 2017.
"Basically, we operated in Thunder Bay for one year just to learn how to make ridesharing work in a smaller market," says Ruberto. "Then from there, there was a lot of communities across Canada that had been having major problems with transportation. We really want to help solve them and prevent impaired driving across the country."
After Thunder Bay, Uride expanded into Chatham-Kent, North Bay, Sudbury and Winnipeg. Ruberto has further expansions planned for Humboldt, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Prince George, Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops.
"We're really looking forward to it."
Like similar ridesharing companies, Uride has an app people can download to request a ride.
"It's a really seamless way to get a ride," says Ruberto. "You can watch the vehicle in real-time."
The next step is getting enough drivers for each market. Ruberto encourages anyone thinking of making a little extra income on the side to apply online (you can find the application here). Drivers will need their Class 4 licence, he notes.
"The more people we can get on the platform, the lower wait times will be."
If all goes according to plan, Uride could be up and running by the fall.