ON June 9, officers from the Richmond RCMP Road Safety Unit (RSU) secured a second conviction against a repeat illegal ride-hail operator offender. Richmond RCMP RSU had secured three convictions against this same driver on March 26.

The latest Motor Vehicle Act charges stemmed from a joint operation between Richmond RCMP RSU and the Ministry of Transportation and Transit’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) officers that took place on May 28.

On June 9, the driver was sentenced to a one-year probation under the specific condition “you shall not operate a commercial passenger vehicle unless properly licensed to do so by the Province of British Columbia.” Failure to comply with this order could result in criminal charges.

“It’s rare for us to see someone enter traffic court and leave on probation with the jeopardy of a Criminal Code of Canada charge should they re-offend. With the seriousness of this conviction we hope we don’t see this driver operating illegally on the road again,” said Constable Frank Tarape of the Richmond RCMP Road Safety Unit. “We want the public to be aware of the inherent risks of using these unlicensed apps and to only use services that are approved to operate in the Province of British Columbia.”