North Shore taxis offer free rides to polling stations

North Shore Taxi is offering free rides to any polling station in West Vancouver and North Vancouver City or District, after the ridesharing service Uber offered the same service elsewhere in Canada.

Free rides will be offered to anyone on the North Shore, to anyone who needs a ride to vote, said company spokesman Gurdip Sahota.

"Uber is doing this across Canada.... We felt, in discussion with others that the legal providers of transportation services could do something better, and as a result, North Shore Taxi has taken this upon ourselves to provide services to anybody who wants to vote."

But the more important reason is that B.C. could play a pivotal role in deciding the next government, Sahota said.

"We feel that anybody who wants to vote ought to be able to vote, and North Shore Taxi will facilitate that today."

Sahota is urging other taxi companies to offer the same service today.

Several Northern B.C. communities, including Prince George, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, are offering free bus and handyDART transit for voters on election day,

How to get a free taxi ride to North Shorepolls

• Call North Shore dispatch line at 604-987-7171
• Or use account number 7171 ELECTION 2015 on the North Shore Taxi app
• Fill out a charge slip in the taxi, with "Charge to 7171 ELECTION 2015" at the top of slip
• Service is only available to polling stations on the North Shore