Uber is being coy.
Today, the international ride-hailing behemoth announced it will launch in Kelowna and Victoria "next week."
However, Uber didn't specify which day next week.
"I can't say exactly which day," Uber's corporate communications lead for Canada, Keerthana Rang, told KelownaNow and VictoriaNow.
"I will share the exact date for launch closer to the day. And on the day of launch we will have a news conference in both Kelowna and Victoria where you can find out more and ask questions."
Uber is expected to upend the way people get around in Kelowna.
The company is so well known around the world and is by far the leader in the ride-hailing business.
Even though Kelowna and Victoria haven't had Uber up to this point, many people in both cities already have the Uber app on their phone for when they used in other cities as they travelled.
As such, Uber had incredible top-of-mind awareness and will likely take off quickly in both Kelowna and Victoria.
"Oh yes, we expect an immediate uptick," said Rang.
"There's been great interest in Uber coming to Kelowna and Victoria, we have drivers in place and both residents and tourists will benefit from our ride-sharing service. Ride share is so important to get around, run errands, get to work or school on time, get rides at night and get rides so you don't drink and drive."
Uber is global (in 700 cities worldwide) and also operates in 140 Canadian cities across nine provinces, including Vancouver.
Uber has actually been trying to launch in Kelowna and Victoria for over a year, but only received permission this month to operate by the BC Passenger Transportation Board.
In anticipation of eventually getting approval, Uber has already recruited drivers in Kelowna and Victoria.
The in-person recruitment event in Kelowna was on Nov. 2.
Uber is doing additional recruitment events in Victoria on June 2 and June 5 from 1-7 pm at the Delta by Marriott Ocean Pointe Hotel.
While it isn't doing another event in Kelowna, it is still encouraging more drivers to sign up in Kelowna at driver.uber.com.
Uber is also offering a $1,000 incentive for drivers in both cities who take passengers on 20 trips within the first two weeks of launch in Kelowna and Victoria, in addition to their regular earnings.
Uber is also urging drivers to make sure the company has their payment information so they can start earning right away and that drivers display the Uber decal on the bottom corner of the passenger side of their windshield.
For the past year, Canadian app-based, ride-hailing company Uride has been operating in Kelowna and building up quite the following.
Uride's business model is to set up in smaller cities (it's in 14) where there's no Uber and it's also underserved by taxis and public transit.
Last week, when Uride founder and CEO Cody Ruberto heard Uber would be coming to Kelowna soon, he kicked into high gear.
He moved to Kelowna from Thunder Bay, his hometown where he started Uride, and immediately started an aggressive awareness campaign.
He feels Uride has a loyal following in Kelowna that will help the company when Uber shows up.
"For sure, definitely, it's a David vs. Goliath story," Ruberto told KelownaNow and Victoria now last week.
"Quick pick up time and affordability are huge in this industry and we're going to continue to be quick and affordable and also improve. We're excited for this challenge. It's going to be interesting."
The reality is people will likely get both the Uride and Uber apps on their phone and play the two companies off one another and choosing whichever happens to be quicker and cheaper for the specific trip they're about to take.
The reality is drivers may also likely drive for both Uride and Uber (and taxi drivers might, too), depending on the day and time that works best for them.
Uride is also already in Kamloops, Nanaimo, Prince George and Vernon and is set to launch in Penticton on Friday.
Uride was planning on launching in Victoria soon, but is now undecided now that Uber will launch in Victoria before it has a chance to.
