ORide, Ottawa-based ride hailing app, considering Thunder Bay

An Ottawa-based company says it's considering Thunder Bay as a site to expand its ride hailing app in the new year.

ORide, which is already up and running in the nation's capital and is in the process of setting up in Sudbury, Ont., uses a phone app to hire independent contractors with private vehicles, or in some instances, a taxi.

• Ride-sharing app set to launch in Sudbury

"Right now, we will be looking at going to Thunder Bay," said company spokespersonRoy MacEwan.

"Meeting with the public of course, and then, moving forward, to approach council and let them know what our intentions are."

ORide was launched in Ottawa in August, MacEwan said, and has about 150 drivers working in that city, while the company expects to be fully up and running in the northeast by March, 2017.

MacEwan said, if all goes well, they are targeting May, 2017 to be operating in Thunder Bay.

"Our hope is that city councillors and staff [will] develop a ride-share bylaw based on the results of consultations with the public and taxi companies," he said.

The city has been in the process of updating the bylaws that regulate taxis which have come under fire as being onerous and outdated for several years.

• Thunder Bay taxi bylaw rewrite now years in the making

MacEwan said he, and the owner of ORide, plan to visit the city sometime in January or early February.

"We've had success in Ottawa and Sudbury ... we try and work in conjunction with taxi companies also," he said.

"That's the other thing, we encourage the taxi companies to take advantage of our app too."

This type of service and the method of booking it by smart phone is the way of the future, MacEwan said.