A preferred taxi is the company you save in your phone and call first. On Vancouver Island and in Metro Vancouver the right pick depends on three things: whether the company is licensed for your pickup area, what it charges, and whether it can do what you need, such as send a wheelchair van, run you to an airport or take a card. This guide explains how taxis are regulated in British Columbia, how to compare companies in about five minutes, and which companies we list in each area, with phone numbers and what we know about prices.
How to choose a preferred taxi in five steps
- Start with the area where you will be picked up, then open the list for it. Our pages cover Parksville and Qualicum, Nanaimo, the Cowichan Valley, Victoria, Port Alberni and the West Coast, the Comox Valley, Campbell River and the north, the Gulf Islands and Metro Vancouver.
- Decide what you cannot give up. A wheelchair-accessible vehicle, card payment and airport service are the usual ones, and few listings mention all three.
- Ask for the approved meter rates, or a quote if the trip is long.
- Save the company’s number, and a second company’s number as a backup.
- Keep a rideshare app installed too, but expect it to work in some towns and not in others.
What “preferred taxi” means on this page
We use the phrase for the company you choose to call first. It is not a licence class, a star rating or a paid placement. We are an independent information site, we are not affiliated with any company we list, and we do not dispatch cars, so no company here can pay to be called preferred.
How taxis are regulated in British Columbia
Taxis, ride-hail services, limousines, shuttles and intercity buses are licensed in the province under the Passenger Transportation Act. The Passenger Transportation Board, an independent tribunal, decides most of the rules that matter to a rider.
Rates
A taxi company may only charge rates the Board has approved. Most cars use a meter that adds a flag fee, a distance charge and a time charge. The Board publishes rate rules for eight geographic areas, and two of them are the Capital Regional District, which is the Victoria area, and Metro Vancouver and area. Outside those areas, ask the company for the rates it has approved.
Operating areas
A taxi licence names an operating area, usually drawn along municipal and regional district boundaries. The Board describes it as the places a licensee may start and finish trips. For you this means a company based in one town is not automatically licensed to take bookings in the next one. Ask before you book a long ride from an address outside the company’s home area.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft are licensed by zone, not by town. There are five zones: the Lower Mainland and Whistler, the Capital region, Vancouver Island outside the capital region, the Okanagan, Kootenay, Boundary and Cariboo, and the rest of the province. A licence for a zone does not mean cars are on the road in every town of it, so check the app for drivers near you.
Preferred taxi by area
These are the companies on our lists as of October 2026. A company can appear under more than one area when it serves several, and rideshare apps are counted in the totals. Open the area page for the full list with prices and features.
Two services show up in several island areas: Nanaimo Airporter on 778-441-2133 and Coastal Rides on 604-330-7433. If you want to see every company side by side, the full list of 55 taxi companies can be filtered by area and feature.
What to compare before you save a number
Across the 55 listings on this site, 21 say they have wheelchair-accessible vehicles, 29 mention airport rides, 22 can be booked by app and 8 say they take cards. The card figure is low mostly because many listings say nothing at all, so ask when you book. Tofino Taxi is reported as cash only, which is worth knowing before a ride on the West Coast.
Accessible vehicles are limited at every company that has them. Book ahead and say what you need.
What a taxi costs
Published tariffs are rare, but where a company posts one we show it. Yellow Cab in Nanaimo lists a $3.90 flag fee, $2.72 per kilometre and $48.74 per hour of waiting. Oceanside Taxi lists a start of $4.40 plus $2.50 per kilometre. Whalley Taxi and Royal City Taxi in Metro Vancouver both list a $3.75 flag fee and $2.18 per kilometre, with waiting at $38.39 and $38.93 per hour. Comox Taxi lists $60 for a ride to Cumberland, and Yellow Cab Vancouver says about $38 from downtown hotels to the airport.
For a ride of 20 km at normal demand, our calculators currently show about $33 to $43 for UberX and about $53 to $64 for a taxi on an average Vancouver Island tariff. Those are estimates from average rates, not quotes. Put your own distance into the taxi fare estimator or the Uber estimate calculator, or open one of the 297 route price pages.
Taxi or rideshare
| Taxi | Rideshare (Uber, Lyft) | |
|---|---|---|
| How the price is set | Meter on approved rates | Price shown in the app before the ride |
| When demand is high | Meter does not change | Price can rise |
| Where it works | Companies in most towns, within their operating areas | Licensed by zone, but cars may be few or none in small towns |
| Booking | Phone, and an app for some companies | App |
Neither is better everywhere. In a town with one or two taxi companies the phone call is usually the quicker route. In Victoria and Metro Vancouver you can compare both before you decide. Our Lyft and Uber comparison covers the rideshare side.
Airports and ferries
Of the companies on our lists, 29 mention airport rides. Listings rarely say if you need to pre-book, so ask for the airport, the price and the pickup spot when you call. Nanaimo Airporter lists airport rides in the Parksville, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Cowichan, Victoria and Comox areas, and Campbell River Airport Shuttle serves the Campbell River airport.
A short checklist before the ride
- Give the pickup address and a name, and ask how long the wait will be.
- Ask for an estimate if the trip is longer than a few kilometres.
- Ask whether they take cards, and which ones.
- For a wheelchair van, say so when you book, not when the car arrives.
- Check that the car carries the company’s name.
- Keep the receipt if you may need to query the fare later.
Frequently asked questions
What is a preferred taxi?
It is the taxi company you choose to call first. The phrase is not an official category in British Columbia, and no company on this site is ranked or paid to be called preferred.
Who regulates taxis in British Columbia?
The Passenger Transportation Board licenses taxis under the Passenger Transportation Act and approves the rates they may charge.
Can any taxi pick me up anywhere on Vancouver Island?
No. A taxi licence names an operating area, usually based on municipal and regional district boundaries. Ask the company whether your pickup address is inside its area.
Are taxi fares the same everywhere in BC?
No. Rate rules are set for eight geographic areas, including the Victoria area and Metro Vancouver, and companies outside those areas have their own approved rates. A meter adds a flag fee, a distance charge and a time charge.
Is Uber available in every town on Vancouver Island?
Not reliably. Ride-hail licences cover whole zones, but drivers may be few or absent in smaller towns. Open the app to see cars near you before you rely on it.
How do I find a wheelchair-accessible taxi?
Of the 55 listings on this site, 21 mention accessible vehicles. Use the filter on the taxi company list, then call and book ahead.
Do taxis accept credit cards?
Many do, but only 8 of our listings say so. Ask when you book. Tofino Taxi is reported as cash only.
How much is a taxi for a 20 km ride?
Our taxi fare estimator shows about $53 to $64 on an average Vancouver Island tariff. A real meter depends on the company, the route and the waiting time.
Sources and how we checked
Rules come from the Passenger Transportation Board, its policy manual and its Metro Vancouver rates rule, and from the provincial passenger transportation pages. Phone numbers, features and prices come from company websites and directory listings, and some are unconfirmed; each company page says where its details come from. Last checked October 2026. If you find a mistake, use the Found a mistake button and tell us which page and what it should say.