Toronto, Ontario — This week, Uber and Lyft overtake Vancouver and Lion Electric marks gains thanks to a repeat buyer.
Taxi? Hail no!
Trips via ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft outnumber taxi rides in Vancouver two-to-one, according to recent statistics commissioned by the BC Passenger Transportation Board and compiled by Hara Associates.
Researchers in the study pulled data and analyzed the effects of ride-hailing across B.C. As of May 2021, 99.99 percent of BC Passenger Transportation Board’s recorded trips (in Region 1: Lower Mainland and Whistler) were led by Uber or Lyft.
Also in May 2021, a total of 1.006 million trips were recorded on ride-hailing in Region 1, compared to 589,000 by taxi.
Uber and Lyft first launched in Metro Vancouver in late January 2020, boasting a combined total of 44,600 trips in the final week of January 2020 and 420,000 trips the following month.
When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, the number of trips dwindled for both the ride-hailing and taxi industries, at 139,000 and 249,000 trips, respectively in April 2020.
“Overall, it appears TNS companies began operation just prior to the advent of COVID, suffered an immediate setback, and then went on to grow and capture half the COVID depressed market for trips,” reads the Hara Associates report.
Leaps for Lion
Quebec-based electric vehicle manufacturer Lion Electric saw its stock rally 1.3 percent in premarket trading last Thursday following an electric school bus order from a repeat customer.
Groupe Autobus Séguin ordered 55 electric school buses from the company, with all units to be delivered by 2025.
The order is conditional on Autobus Séguin being granted funding from the Quebec government’s School Transportation Electrification Program and the Canadian federal government’s Zero Emission Transit Fund.
The order of 55 buses follows the 60 electric vehicles Autobus Séguin previously ordered in January 2021.
“The fact that our customers repeat large orders is a sign that the transition to electrification is well underway and that Lion’s products are successful in all markets,” said Lion Electric Chief Executive Marc Bédard.
Lion Electric began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in May of this year. As of Monday afternoon, the company’s stock was down 1.33 percent year-to-date, trading at $14.12 a share.
