Uber-style services to be studied by all-party committee

The Uber logo is seen in front of protesting taxi drivers at the Montreal courthouse, on Feb. 2, 2016. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

An all-party committee of the B.C. legislature is being formed to study Uber and other ride-hailing services to determine how to best implement them in the province.

MLAs from the NDP, Liberal and Green parties will be speaking with experts and debating the controversial services over the coming months, then delivering a report in February.

Green leader Andrew Weaver, who announced the committee Thursday, said he's excited to see the parties working together to tackle the tricky issue.

"It has been six years since ride-hailing companies first attempted to enter the B.C. market," Weaver said in a statement.

"My goal with this committee is to make this the last holiday season in which British Columbians are faced with fewer transportation options than every other major city in North America.”

The NDP previously promised to roll out ride-hailing in the province by the end of the year, but pushed that deadline back to consult further with the taxi industry, which could be seriously impacted by the competition.

The government said legislative changes allowing ride-hailing would not be introduced until fall 2018 at the earliest.

As many potential customers anxiously await Uber's arrival, the popular service has seen increasing pushback in some countries where it launched years ago.

London declined to renew the company's license in September, and several European countries, including Italy, have moved to ban Uber, at least in its current form.