Coastal Rides looking for interested drivers in Fort Nelson

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Fort Nelson council has started working with Coastal Rides to provide transportation options in the community, and the ride-sharing company is now looking for drivers.

Hillary Sheppard, community and social development coordinator with the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM), says the municipality has been struggling with transportation services for quite some time.

Sheppard says this may be due to the extreme weather conditions and wildlife risks.

Transportation options were previously based on taxi services, but throughout the pandemic, those services declined, and the community’s lone rental vehicle agency pulled out completely.

“The only thing we have right now is a non-profit, the Northern Rockies Seniors Society, who operate a bus,” Sheppard said.

“Which is a subsidized service through different community partnerships and fundraising and the municipality provides sponsorship of that too.”

The bus has a lower day rate for rides and is open to everybody. The bus primarily meets the needs of those with limited mobility.

“So essentially, we haven’t had any public transportation,” Sheppard said.

She says the economic impact is also significant because those who come into Fort Nelson can’t even leave the airport.

“We’ve had a lot of our people that have come to the community for work end up going through Grande Prairie, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, renting a vehicle there and driving up to Fort Nelson,” Sheppard said.

Coastal Rides introduced themselves to the municipality in 2022 because they had a license to operate in the region.

Coastal Rides began operating in Fort St. John in October after looking for drivers in September.

Coastal Rides Founder Ryan Staley said two people in Fort St. John have “gone through all the hurdles” so far.

“We’ve got another half dozen that have expressed interest but haven’t gotten everything together yet,” Staley added.

The ride-sharing app came to Fort St. John after the city received several complaints from the public indicating local taxi services are often unavailable or only available after an unacceptably long wait.

Similar to Uber, Coastal Rides sets its fares in advance and can be booked by downloading its app. 

The app can be downloaded onto any smartphone to book rides, and drivers can register online or through the app.