Two ride-sharing services arrive in Fredericton with plans to expand

For the first time, not one but two ride-sharing services have arrived in New Brunswick.

Both companies are focused in Fredericton for now, but they have plans to expand to more communities. They come after the city changed its by-laws more than two years ago, allowing for the service that sees people book and pay for a ride through a mobile app.

“Kari” was on the road more than a week ago and “Uride” began last Friday. Both companies told CTV Atlantic the number of drivers interested and available in the city is part of the reason why they’re launching in Fredericton first.

“Right off the bat, demand has been through the roof,” said Cody Ruberto, founder and owner of Uride. “People clearly want the service...our average pick-up time was around ten minutes.”

Ruberto launched the service in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., before expanding to nearly 20 locations across Canada.

He says it stemmed from seeing the need and wanting to ensure people got home safely.

“I was playing professional soccer in Europe actually, then I got injured, and I had a year off from soccer so I went back home,” he said. “And that's where, every time I'd go out I'd see crowds of people stranded in like -30C, waiting for a ride.”

He’s hoping to see Uride roll into Moncton and Saint John before the holidays.

Kari started in Charlottetown three years ago and is now island-wide. Founder Matt MacLeod says the trip to Fredericton won’t be the end of the road.

“We’ll look at Saint John and Moncton, but specifically outside of Saint John, in Rothesay, in Quispamsis, Bathurst, Miramichi is on our list as well – you’re going to see us go into markets that are probably not even on other people’s radars,” he said.

When Ravi Prasad moved to Fredericton two years ago, he says he found public transportation services unreliable. Now he’s behind the wheel, working for Uride as a driver. He works full-time as a personal support worker, but he wanted to pick up a second job and likes the flexibility.

“The extra cash I get from this is very helpful to pay the bills and help with my mortgage payments,” he said. “So far I’ve been hearing from clients that they are very happy to see the app come here.”

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