Minneapolis City Council may reconsider rideshare ordinance that prompted Uber, Lyft to threaten leaving city
MINNEAPOLIS — A controversial minimum wage ordinance that prompted Uber and Lyft to announce they will cease operating in Minneapolis in May could be up for reconsideration at the City Council.
An agenda for Thursday's meeting notes council member Andrea Jenkins introduced "notice of intent to move reconsideration of Ordinance 2024-009 at the April 11, 2024, meeting."
The ordinance, as passed, ensures rideshare drivers receive at least $1.40 per mile, 51 cents per minute and $5 per ride. Drivers are also entitled to 80% of any cancellation fee charged to a rider. The City Council passed the ordinance March 7 and Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed it the next day. The next week, the council voted to override Frey's veto.
Uber and Lyft have said their businesses will leave the city on May 1, when the ordinance is set to go into effect. Lyft said the ordinance "makes our operations unsustainable," while Uber said it will put drivers out of work. Uber plans to leave the entire metro area, including the airport, while Lyft has only indicated it will shut down operations in Minneapolis.
Frey said he supports raising drivers' wages, but not this specific ordinance. He cited a state report that shows drivers need 89 cents per mile and 49 cents per minute to make minimum wage.
"The proposal the council put forward was wrong," Frey said. "Their stated position was that this was a way to get rideshare drivers to a minimum wage. In fact, there is a substantially lower rate that will both get drivers a minimum wage and will have expenses covered."
After Jenkins' notice of intent, Frey said he was "grateful to Council Members Jenkins and Palmisano for their partnership and willingness to bring this back to the table."
"Thus far, the Council has been unwilling to engage all relevant parties in developing the ordinance they pushed through," he said. "But there has been and still is room for compromise to ensure drivers who rely on rideshare services for a paycheck get a raise and riders who rely on the service can continue getting around our city."
It's unclear what exactly Jenkins' move indicates. The council passed the ordinance by a 9-4 vote and overrode the veto 10-3.
In the state legislature, both Republicans and Democrats are considering rideshare bills. Gov. Tim Walz vetoed a statewide measure last year after Uber made similar threats to those against Minneapolis.
Rideshare drivers react
Uber notified drivers Wednesday it'll be closing its Richfield support center next month, about two weeks before it says it would leave the metro altogether.
"If Uber leaves, I think a lot of people are going to lose their job," said Melakamu Bkuto, who's been driving for four years.
Another driver, Mohammed Abdi Mohammed, thinks the companies' threat to leave is a bluff and supports the ordinance.
"We need a benefit...Because we are always on the road over here," he said. "It's not easy."
Bkuto says he would like a raise but not one so high that it forces the rideshare companies out.
He'd like to see more negotiation.
"There's a lot of time," Bkuto said. "I hope everything's going to be fixed."
"A few more weeks of city leaders talking to state leaders, and perhaps Uber and Lyft, might help us get to a commonplace, and that's the hope," said Council Member Linea Palmisano, who voted against the ordinance. "I'm always hopeful about it."