A new ride-hailing service set to launch in Montreal next month has been given the go-ahead by Quebec's transport ministry to compete with Uber.
Eva, as it's called, will operate in a similar way to Uber, but the business model is different — it will operate as a co-op, allowing their drivers to make more money than an Uber driver would, and allow them more of a say in the running of the company.
"Eva would only take 15 per cent of each ride, while Uber takes 25 per cent, and at the end of the year, if there's profit, the profit can be shared by all members," says Eva co-founder Dardan Isufi.
He also says the technology used by the service would be based on Blockchain, which means Eva won't store your personal data — or sell it to a third party.
Isufi says they received their approval from Quebec's transport ministry on Friday, after more than a year — and suggests the Legault government was a bit more open to their idea than the previous Couillard government.
"We started with the previous [Liberal] government, and it was really hard to get in touch with the previous transport minister [André Fortin]. But then, the new CAQ party came in, and we saw that there was much more openness toward entrepreneurs and technology. So we started again...the process to get the approval."
Isufi says he expects to launch the service early in February.