A form of ride-hailing is launching in Metro Vancouver at the end of the month, but critics argue it's a pale imitation of services such as Uber and Lyft.
Kater promises to provide "reliable rides at the touch of a button," and the made-in-Surrey app is expected to be available for download starting on March 30.
Kater says passengers will be able to plot their destination, pay their fare, tip their driver and rate their experience through the app – though spokesperson Corrie Larson acknowledged it's not exactly the same service offered by established ride-hailing companies.
"This is a hybrid," Larson said. "We have taken the best of both worlds, combined them in an incredible solution."
The service was developed in collaboration with the Vancouver Taxi Association, and will be used in an unconfirmed number of cabs throughout the Lower Mainland.
Uber and similar companies are currently barred from B.C. because the province doesn't have the proper policies in place to regulate them, while Kater will follow existing taxi regulations.
BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal argued the app is a far cry from what the public has been demanding for years. Kater is "taking some of its profits and returning it to the Vancouver Taxi Association," he said.
"That's not ride-hailing. That's the NDP trying to pull a fast one on taxpayers," Johal added.
A message on the Kater website indicates passengers can expect to pay a base fare of $3.25, plus 56 cents per minute and $1.88 per kilometre, a fare structure set by the Passenger Transportation Board.
For comparison, Yellow Cab charges a base fare of $3.30, plus 56 cents per minute and $1.89 per kilometre.
Unlike Uber, Kater says it won’t use “surge pricing,” the practice of hiking prices when demand for rides is high.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Jon Woodward
