Ride-hailing trips have more than tripled in Metro Vancouver over the past five years, with many replacing trips that would have otherwise used public transit, according to a TransLink report presented to the board of directors and mayors' council on regional transportation this week.
Ride-hailing growth and transit competition
There were roughly 3.5 million monthly ride-hailing trips using services such as Uber and Lyft in Metro Vancouver at the end of 2025, up from about one million per month in 2021 when the services were first approved. Sarah Ross, TransLink's vice-president of planning, told the board that a few years ago there were about 10 times more transit trips than ride-hailing trips, but by 2025 that ratio had dropped to only six times more transit trips.
Across the region, approximately one-third of all ride-hailing trips were on routes where a single-leg, transfer-free transit journey was an option. Ride-hailing use was heaviest in denser, more walkable neighbourhoods with high transit access. Peak usage times overlapped with rush-hour traffic, contributing to road congestion.
Short trips in dense urban centres
The report states: “It is these short trips within dense urban centres where ride-hailing trips are less optimal — most competing with walking and transit, and most adding to congested traffic conditions.” Thirteen per cent of all regional ride-hailing trips both begin and end within the core of Metro Vancouver, and 71 per cent of those trips could have been done on transit with no transfer. Another eight per cent were within walking distance of their destination.
Most of the trips occurred during times and in locations where transit operates frequently, raising concerns that ride-hail services are competing with public transit for users. SkyTrain ridership declined throughout 2025.
Expert insights and airport trends
Kelly Clifton, a professor at UBC's school of regional planning, said in an email that the report's findings mirror results from a study she led in Portland, Oregon, where a large percentage of ride-hailing use also took place where transit was a competitive option. “Folks may opt for ride-hail because they will be drinking, are dressed to go out and have less appropriate clothing/shoes for walking to/from and waiting on transit, or have reservations and feel stressed for time,” Clifton wrote. “Also, tourists may be unfamiliar with transit generally and not know the area well.”
Vancouver International Airport was the most common pickup destination, and people were almost as likely to use a ride-hailing service as they were to use transit, despite the SkyTrain station at the airport terminal. Between 2024 and 2025, ride-hailing trips out of YVR grew 43 per cent, according to Ross. Trips to the airport increased by 11 per cent in the same period.
