Ride-sharing app says insurance rules keeping it off New Brunswick streets

Uride founder Cody Ruberto says he has 300 interested drivers in the Fredericton area — but only 10 have been able to secure insurance.

The head of a Canadian ride-hailing service says he’s been trying to expand into New Brunswick but insurance rules in the province have made getting drivers difficult.

New Brunswick altered its Motor Vehicle Act towards the end of 2020 to allow businesses like Uber and Lyft to operate within the province – once municipalities had relevant bylaws in place.

Fredericton passed a bylaw the following April, and Saint John’s city council will review its version on Tuesday.

Even with the capital city open for ride-sharing, none of the major players have set up shop.

But apparently, that’s not for lack of trying.

“At first it was just about getting enough drivers,” says Uride founder and CEO Cody Ruberto, “but then we ran into a major hurdle that we hadn’t run into anywhere else.”

Ruberto started Uride in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., and has since expanded into seven additional cities across Ontario.

He says he’d hoped to be operating on the streets of Fredericton by the end of 2021 but many interested drivers haven’t been able to get cleared by their insurance providers.