Rothesay has become the latest New Brunswick municipality to allow ridesharing.
Council voted this week to pass the third and final reading of its ridesharing bylaw.
It follows the lead of Saint John, Quispamsis and Grand Bay-Westfield, which already have their own bylaws.
Companies will need to apply for a licence from the town to pick up or drop off passengers within Rothesay limits.
Those licences will cost between $807 and $7,253 per year, depending on how many vehicles they operate.
That is a bit different than in Quispamsis and Grand Bay-Westfield, which allow companies to operate as long as they are “in good standing and licensed by any New Brunswick municipality.”
Saint John, like Rothesay, also requires rideshare companies to be licensed with their municipality to operate there.
Meanwhile, drivers in Rothesay will also be required to complete a criminal record check, which includes a vulnerable sector check.
Ridesharing is a service that uses a mobile application to match passengers needing a ride with a vehicle owner. These services have become a popular transportation option for many years in larger communities.
Amendments to the province’s Motor Vehicle Act introduced in 2020 paved the way for ridesharing services.
However, each municipality is required to create its own bylaw to allow ridesharing services to operate in their communities.
Uride, a Canadian rideshare service, began operating in Saint John just before Christmas. It also has vehicles on the road in Moncton and Fredericton.
