Minneapolis City Council to decide Thursday whether to overrule mayor's veto on rideshare ordinance
MINNEAPOLIS — On Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council will decide whether to override the mayor's veto and raise wages for drivers.
The vote could mean Uber and Lyft will hit the road and leave Minneapolis by May 1.
The ordinance has created concern among downtown business groups like the Minneapolis Downtown Council, worried about the city's future ability to host events like the Big 10 Tournament.
The choice between paying drivers more or losing access to ridesharing was a tough one for some fans.
"I think it would be tough for us, like we're trying to come downtown, we want to have good time, we want to be able to, you know, have a few drinks," Stephen Prica said.
RELATED: Minneapolis mayor calls City Council's rideshare minimum wage ordinance "dramatically off"
"It's worth whatever they need to get paid to just do it. Because at the end of the day, we got to get home safe and get home to our families," Evan Kornacki said.
If Uber and Lyft do leave, cab drivers say they're ready to roll. Other rideshare services could move in too.
Adam Warner is with InDrive, a rideshare app that's big in other parts of the world and is starting to roll out in the U.S. But Warner wouldn't quite commit to coming here.
"So there are different regulations, insurance requirements, state rules and licensing that need to go through," he said. "So if a company is able to pull those things together in a relatively short amount of time, I do see that there's an opportunity."
Another rideshare app, Empower, sent WCCO a statement saying they were ready to go.
"We have complete confidence that there will be no disruption in access to ride hail services should Uber and Lyft leave Minneapolis," Empower said.
Remember, despite threats in the past, Uber and Lyft have never left a city because of a minimum pay measure.
