By Lara Fominoff @fomsy1 on Twitter

Uber officially launches in Lethbridge

Sep 8, 2017 | 9:01 PM

LETHBRIDGE – After a year-and-a-half of planning and consulting, Uber is now officially up and running in Lethbridge. Mayor Chris Spearman and Councillor Blaine Hyggen took the first official ride in a Range Rover that pulled up to the Galt museum Friday morning (Sept.8).

Spearman says he regularly uses the app outside of the city, and now, it’s another transportation option for citizens here.

“The buses may not always be available, the taxis may not always be available and this provides another option. “

He says he’s excited to see new businesses like Uber set up, and proud that after Calgary and Edmonton, it’s the third city to have the ride-sharing program.

“It says something about our city. That we’re progressive and that we welcome new businesses and encourage—provide new opportunities for young people as drivers and others who wish to participate.”

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Spearman explains that Lethbridge College and University students were some of the biggest proponents of the program. It’s also something that Uber noticed as well, says Ramit Kaar, General Manager for Uber Western Canada.

“For several months and years, we’ve wanted to launch in Lethbridge. Lethbridge has been the perfect city for Lethbridge. Lots of students, lots of people looking for other options. City council made it easy for us.”

He says people can now simply download their app, enter their information, and a driver will show up in a few minutes.

While Kaar won’t say how many drivers they have in the city, he does mention that wherever anyone wants to go, they’ll be able to find someone.

“As soon as we announced that we wanted to launch, we had lots of people show up and say ‘hey, this is an opportunity I’ve been waiting for…’ And after launch date, what we’ve seen in city after city, is people will absolutely come and see this as a great, flexible earning opportunity.”

Kaar says the plan is to service Lethbridge for now, and if they see a demand for area outside of the city, they may expand in the future.

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