Unless a city ordinance is repealed or state legislators succeed in passing a fix before May 1, ride-share companies Uber and Lyft will no longer operate in Minneapolis, the North Star State's largest city.
The move by the ride-hailing companies comes as a direct consequence of the Minneapolis City Council's passage of the "Transportation ride share worker protections ordinance." When even the city's Democrat mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the edict, the city council overrode his veto and ensured the ordinance would be put in place.
The Minneapolis City Council is comprised of 13 members. Twelve are members of the Democratic-Farmer-Laborer Party (the Democrats' affiliate in Minnesota) and one is an "independent socialist." Six of the 13 are also affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Set to kick in on May 1, the new policy requires that "a driver for Uber or Lyft must be paid $1.40 for every mile driven while transporting a rider, and $0.51 for every minute a rider is being transported, or $5.00 (whichever is greater)," according to reporting from Alpha News. "The per mile and per minute rates will be annually adjusted under the ordinance."
Despite Mayor Frey's attempts to stop the policy and previous warnings from Uber and Lyft that the ordinance would cause residents and visitors to the larger of the Twin Cities to lose access to their ride-sharing services, the city council pressed ahead. Both ride-share companies did as they had warned would be necessary and announced the end of their services to coincide with the ordinance's effective date.
"This deeply-flawed bill has been jammed through despite major concerns being raised by the community," Lyft said in a statement. "This ordinance makes our operations unsustainable, and as a result, we are shutting down operations in Minneapolis when the law takes effect on May 1," the company said. "We will continue to advocate for a statewide solution in Minnesota that balances the needs of riders and drivers and hope to return to Minneapolis as soon as possible."
Uber, too, released a statement saying the company was "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." In addition to Minneapolis, "Uber said it plans to cease operations throughout the entire metro area May 1, including the airport," per Alpha News' report.
Republicans in the state legislature — currently the minority party in both chambers — are working to fix the error of the Minneapolis City Council's ways, with the state House GOP pushing a bill to "preempt" local ordinances such as the one set to take effect in Minneapolis in order to protect access to ride-sharing services.
One such Republican is Rep. Elliott Engen, the assistant minority leader in the state House who represents a district north of Minneapolis and St. Paul. "The Minneapolis City Council's ordinance was intended to help drivers but it will end up doing just the opposite," he said in a statement this week. "They ignored repeated warnings from Uber and Lyft about discontinuing service in Minneapolis due to the ordinance," Engen reminded. "On May 1st, these jobs will be gone and the Minneapolis City Council will have set the real minimum wage for rideshare drivers to $0."
Rideshare services are crucial to Minnesotans.
— Elliott Engen (@elliottengenMN) March 15, 2024
When far-left policies force companies like Uber and Lyft from operating in our state, the legislature needs to step in with a solution.
Our @mnhousegop caucus has one. pic.twitter.com/YGdg8OScBI
"It’s a shame that Democrats will pass extreme liberal policies that would interfere with free enterprise," Stephanie Rivera, spokeswoman for the Republican State Leadership Committee, told Townhall. "Minnesota Republicans are once again coming to the rescue for Minnesotans who need to use ride-share apps on a daily basis."
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