Ridesharing company Uride kicks off services in Penticton on Friday

Photo: Trevor Harris

A new ride-share service is set to launch in Penticton on Friday, after onboarding drivers and setting up their app-based transportation service for the area.

Uride has already been seeing success in Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops, among other BC cities, and specializes in small and mid-sized locations.

Trevor Harris, who is a driver with the company, has already been working in Kelowna but is looking forward to driving in the Penticton area.

"I live in Summerland so it's a lot closer for me to drive," he said. "Everyone I've talked to so far is really really excited because of the lack of bus service particularly afterwards 6:30 at night."

He added that he's looking forward to Uride giving people options, especially if they work late at night at bars or casinos, or for getting home from the Vees games.

Uride said in their press release that they aim to deliver "convenient, reliable transportation options while offering drivers a chance to earn flexible income."

As part of the Penticton launch celebration, Uride is still offering exclusive sign-up bonuses for new drivers. There's a $1500 weekly guarantee for drivers who join the all-star program, and a $750 sign-on bonus after completing 100 trips for part-time drivers.

"We're going to be covering the city of Penticton, we can drop off outside the city right now but probably shortly after we're going to open up Summerland to be picked up and then probably Oliver, Osoyoos, etc. Eventually, the entire South Okanagan Similkameen will be accessible to Uride," Harris said.

He added that he has had no issues come up so far in his time driving and is enjoying the company's commitment to the "Good Deeds program", which supports local charities, volunteer initiatives, and event sponsorships in the cities they operate in.

"This past weekend we did a promotion like the game show Cash Cab. We did that in my Uride where they gave me $250 to hand out. I asked trivia questions, and I handed out anywhere from $20 to $110," he said.

"We want to get more involved in the community. Ideas were thrown around, including the CEO, who's also a driver believe it or not."

Uride is available for download in app stores now, so people can set up their profiles and input payment methods ahead of the launch on Friday.

While the model is similar to other drive-sharing companies, Harris said they are a small Canadian company who are built up of locals.

"So as they say, if you want to support local well, all the drivers are local," he added. "We only work and are offering [service in] small to midsize cities. And I'm going to quote a CEO here, 'that are underserved by both transit and taxis.' So that's where we come in and it gives other people options."

For more information about Uride, head to their website here.