Lyft and Uber said they will cease operations in Minneapolis after the city’s council voted Thursday to override a mayoral veto and require that ride-hailing services increase driver wages to the equivalent of the local minimum wage of $15.57 an hour.
Lyft called the ordinance “deeply flawed,” saying in a statement that it supports a minimum earning standard for drivers but not the one passed by the council.
They threatened the same with Seattle and surprise surprise they’re still here. They did pass the entire fee onto the consumer though, which sucks ass but at least gig workers are being paid.
As a consumer visiting, I’d see that and think “Uber is too expensive now, I guess.” Then I’d not use them in other cities.
I’m already avoiding them right now, though, so no changes here.
It just means you’re guaranteed a single $15.57 drive per hour if you haven’t had one the entire hour. That’s unlikely so it’ll probably be split up making it a little more expensive.
They did the same thing for UberEats in NYC. “New York Courier Fee” of $2 on every order with the explainer text “Due to new requirements put in place by the City of New York, workers are guaranteed a minimum hourly pay rate while they are delivering orders to customers. Customers will now see an additional fee on all delivery orders to help cover this pay rate. Tipping remains optional.”
Reminds me of when my employer put a separate line item for “Obama care cost increase” on my paycheck
At least Seattle has a decent rail and bus system. In some smaller cities and rural areas, you are fucked AND Uber/Lyft is expensive af (if available)