You will have to wear a mask if you want a ride once Kabu Ride launches service in Kamloops on tomorrow, at 11 a.m., the first ride hailing service to do so in the city.
Spokesperson Martin van den Hemel says they’ve also installed Lexan plastic shields in its vehicles to reduce the risk of spreading the virus between drivers and passengers.
“We want to ensure that when we launch our services, that we do it in the safest manner possible,” he told NL News. “It means keeping our drivers safe, keeping our riders or our customers safe, and it means just our responsibility to the general public to keep everybody safe.”
van den Hemel adds all frequently-touched surfaces like door handles, as well as window and lock controls will be wiped down often, while the vehicles itself will be aired out in between trips.
“Drivers will be rolling down the windows when driving to another passenger to make sure that whatever air was in the back of the vehicle, any droplets that might be in the air lingering there, that they are eliminated from the vehicle,” van den Hemel added.
As well, all transactions will be completed electronically through the app, with no cash accepted by drivers.
Kabu Ride has partnered with TasteFull Excursions, a Kamloops tour and shuttle transportation company with is intended to help the Richmond-based company tailor its services to the needs of the Kamloops community.
“We are familiar with the service gaps for convenient and reliable transportation in Kamloops experienced by residents and visitors alike, and we see Kabu and
its team as a big part of the solution,” said TasteFull Excursions CFO, Gordon Stamp-Vincent.
Kabu Ride will be operating from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Canada Day, before expanding to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday onwards, with the exception of Friday and Saturday, when the hours of service will be 6 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The company’s application was approved by the Passenger Transportation Board back in February. Since then, three other companies – Lucky to Go, Safe Ride and Ripe Holdings – have been given ride-sharing licenses, though none have indicated specific plans yet to operate in Kamloops.
The largest ride-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft, have not applied to operate anywhere in the Interior, citing government restrictions on driving licensing as a reason why.
