After Uber, Lyft Bill, Minneapolis City Council May Backtrack

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council may rethink its passing of a controversial rideshare plan, which led Uber and Lyft to cease operations there.

In the agenda for the council's Thursday meeting, under "Transportation ride share worker protections ordinance," is the following item:

Jenkins gives notice of intent to move reconsideration of Ordinance 2024-009 at the April 11, 2024, meeting of the City Council relating to minimum driver compensation for Transportation Network Companies.

No other details were available on the procedural move, but the Star Tribune suggests that one or more of the 10 council members who voted to override Mayor Jacob Frey's veto of the Uber/Lyft bill "could have buyer's remorse and want to change their vote, or at least buy time to see if some agreement could be reached with state lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz."

Last year, Walz vetoed a similar bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature, saying it wasn't ready to become law.

"This bill could make Minnesota one of the most expensive states in the country for rideshare, potentially putting us on par with the cost of rides in New York City and Seattle — cities with dramatically higher costs of living than Minnesota," Walz told state lawmakers at the time.

The state bill would have required drivers to be paid at least $5 per ride, or at least $1.45 per mile and 34 cents per minute in the Twin Cities metro area.

Walz and state Democrats are working on a more modest proposal, KSTP reported.

May 1 deadline

Both Lyft and Uber plan to cease operations in Minneapolis on May 1, the same day the controversial ordinance is set to take effect.

Lyft told Patch it does not plan to leave St. Paul, the airport, or Minneapolis suburbs. But it will not operate within Minneapolis city limits.

Uber, Lyft's biggest competitor, has different plans. Starting May 1, Twin Cities will become the only metro area in the U.S. without Uber.

"We are disappointed the Council chose to ignore the data and kick Uber out of the Twin Cities, putting 10,000 people out of work and leaving many stranded," Uber Senior Director of Public Affairs at Uber Josh Gold told Patch.

"But we know that by working together with all stakeholders - drivers, riders and state leaders - we can achieve comprehensive statewide legislation that guarantees drivers a fair minimum wage, protects their independence and keeps rideshare affordable."

The ordinance passed last week requires drivers to receive $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute for all portions of a ride occurring within Minneapolis. The rates best approximate the city’s $15.57 minimum wage, supporters say.

Additionally, the bill requires annual increases based on the city's minimum wage. And if a ride is canceled while the trip has already begun, the driver can expect 80 percent of the fare.

The median earnings for drivers in the metro area is $13.63, with 25 percent of drivers in the metro area earning under $10.54 per hour, according to state labor data.

"This is a David and Goliath story," Council Member Robin Wonsley said of the bill's passage last week.

"Uber and Lyft want us to believe they are untouchable, and the status quo of exploiting workers cannot be fixed. Today’s vote demonstrated that all of this was just a question of political will."