At this year’s BC Chamber of Commerce AGM in May 2020, the Delta Chamber of Commerce, with the support of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Vancouver and Surrey Boards of Trade, received the endorsement of  125 Chambers and Boards of Trade  representing 33,000 businesses across the province for our policy resolution entitled EXPEDITING THE GEORGE MASSEY CROSSING PROJECT. This resolution was adopted and as a result has become part of the BC Chamber’s advocacy agenda with the provincial government.
 
This was reflected in the recent province-wide and local media coverage of the BC Chamber’s advocacy on this issue, including the Delta Optimist.
 
The Delta Chamber of Commerce would like to acknowledge our Delta Business Community and our 500 members for enabling us to present policies that address critical issues affecting our economy and employment to our provincial and national governments. We value the opportunity to speak for our business community, deliver educational training and resources, extensive networking and promotional opportunities and access to affordable employee benefit plans.
 
Join with us and our provincial and national network of chambers and boards of trade, representing over 200,000 businesses across Canada and share your feedback on issues important to you and your business. The Delta Chamber of Commerce is a strong, effective Voice of Business for Delta and membership provides you the opportunity to amplify your perspective and make an impact!

On Thursday, January 23, 2020, the Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) approved the Uber and Lyft applications to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler. While this approval covers operations across the Lower Mainland and in Whistler it will not immediately cover this entire area.

Lyft’s initial service area includes the Vancouver International Airport, the Pacific National Exhibition and the City of Vancouver core. Uber’s initial offering includes a core area surrounding Vancouver – including North Delta and Ladner, but excluding Tsawwassen, Tsawwassen First Nation, and the BC Ferries Tsawwassen terminal. Uber riders are currently able to be dropped off in these locations, however the app will not allow for pick-ups.

The City of Delta has an existing business licensing process in place for ride-hailing companies, like Lyft and Uber, with a base annual business license fee of $110 plus $25 per car; with a cap per company of $1,500, which is consistent with the business license fees paid by taxis that operate in Delta. In December 2019 Delta’s Mayor, George Harvie, explained in a press release on the topic that the City has “established a simple and reasonable business licensing system for ride-hailing to ensure that we are treating ride-hailing companies and taxis fairly while allowing our residents to access improved transportation services. We look forward to ride-hailing companies operating in Delta as soon as the Province allows them to.”

On behalf of the membership of the Delta Chamber of Commerce, Board Chair Yvonne Anderson congratulated & thanked Delta Mayor George Harvie for his leadership on brokering an agreement with the regional mayors to replace the George Massey Tunnel.

She went on to say that "while the process and the ultimate solution has been an issue and the subject of many debates, the Delta Chamber and our members have been more concerned about the lack of certainty and timeline for this project to be completed. With your actions and leadership to get the regional Mayor’s decision back to the province, we have the certainty that it is now the provincial government’s responsibility to take action and deliver a solution to replace this critical piece of infrastructure for Delta and all British Columbians." 

Click here to read the full letter. 

Category: Advocacy, Chair of the Board, Local & Regional Government, Member News, Transportation