“Thank God”: ride-share service beginning to take root in Belleville

By Jacob Willis

BELLEVILLE – The introduction of URide ride-share services into Belleville last December has made waves in the city’s public transport system, with some residents calling it a “breath of fresh air.”

It was the work of Coun. Chris Malette that set the stage for URide’s introduction into the Belleville market. Malette had lobbied for the city to allow ride-sharing services after fielding years’ worth of complaints about local taxi companies. 

“Sometimes people calling for cabs were waiting hours for a taxi,” Malette said in an email interview with QNet News this week. “And that meant missed appointments; some who were leaving bars drove when they should have taken a taxi; and even hotel guests had to beg for rides to the train station from hotel staff because taxis were unavailable.

“We’re pleased to be able to welcome a ride-sharing service such as URide.”

The startup business based in Thunder Bay, Ont., provides transport across the city through a ride-share network, which enlists local drivers with privately owned vehicles to offer rides to users on the URide app.

Having found success in 15 previous locations throughout Canada, URide is beginning to gain steam in the Belleville market – but word of the new service hasn’t yet reached all who may want to hear it.

“It’s been getting busier every month,” URide founder and chief executive officer Cody Ruberto told QNet News Thursday. “Things have gone well so far, but we’re going to keep pushing it on social media like Facebook and Instagram. One big thing for us is word of mouth. We’re going to take care of our customers; people who try our service once almost always keep using it.”

That’s music to the ears of some forlorn taxi frequenters. 

“URide, I ride, I’m so down for this,” said Loyalist College student Nick Lopez upon learning of the service. “The taxis are just too unpredictable. 

“Thank God this is here in Belleville. It’s all I’ve been asking for. It’s like a breath of fresh air. I’ve had to wait 20, 30 minutes for a taxi when I could’ve just taken the bus.”

But URide’s emergence isn’t reason to panic for taxi companies just yet, according to Central Taxi CEO Marc Andre Way.

“We don’t consider (ride-share services) as competition,” Way told QNet on Friday. 

URide has recently announced multiple new promotions to further establish itself within the Belleville community. On Thursday, Ruberto revealed a promo code that will allow college students like Lopez to get a discount. The code LOYALIST15 will grant students $15 off their first ride through the app. 

The company is also offering free trips for essential workers and discounts to non-essential business owners in support of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Ruberto said he also plans to implement in Belleville some of the expansions made to URide’s services elsewhere, such as food delivery, in the near future.