If
you’re looking for transportation from the airport or any other destination in
Minnesota’s largest city, don’t look to Lyft or Uber after May 1.
That’s
when the ride-sharing companies will cease
operations in Minneapolis.
It
is a protest move, of sorts.
The Minneapolis
city council overrode the mayor’s veto of a minimum wage for ride-share
drivers. The override lets drivers earn the local minimum wage of $15.57 an
hour.
“We support a minimum earning standard for drivers, but it
should be done in an honest way that keeps the service affordable for riders,”
said a Lyft spokesperson.
Uber said in a statement obtained by CNN that it’s “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.”
“Everyone wants to see Uber and Lyft drivers get paid
more. But getting a raise doesn’t do a whole lot of good if you lose your job,”
Mayor Jacob Frey said. “There will be a massive impact felt by our region.”
Indeed, the services have become almost indispensable to
some.
But Frey pointed to a study that showed drivers make
significantly less.
“We shouldn’t be afraid of data, we should be embracing
it. We shouldn’t be ignoring studies that come out, we should be utilizing them
and creating the best possible policy,” Frey said.
Frey is asking local politicians to come up with a
solution before May 1. The ride-share services say that user prices would
double if they stayed in Minneapolis.
Last year,
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had vetoed a bill that would've set a
minimum wage for ride-share drivers. He said it would make Minnesota “one of the
most expensive states in the country for ride-share.”
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