Current:Home > InvestLyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis after city council forces them to pay drivers more -Streamline Finance
Lyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis after city council forces them to pay drivers more
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:43:01
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — 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.
“It should be done in an honest way that keeps the service affordable for riders,” Lyft said. “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.”
Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but news outlets reported that it issued a similar statement saying it would also stop service that day.
Both companies promised to push for statewide legislation that would counter the Minneapolis ordinance, and state House Republicans proposed a bill Thursday that would preempt local regulations of ride-hailing services.
The City Council first passed the measure last week in a 9-4 vote despite Mayor Jacob Frey’s promise to veto it. The measure requires ride-hailing companies to pay drivers at least $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute for the time spent transporting a rider — or $5 per ride, whichever is greater — excluding tips. In the event of a multi-city trip, that only applies to the portion that takes place within Minneapolis.
Critics of the bill say costs will likely spike for everyone, including people with low incomes and people with disabilities who rely on ride-hailing services. Supporters say the services have relied on drivers who are often people of color and immigrants for cheap labor.
“Drivers are human beings with families, and they deserve dignified minimum wages like all other workers,” Jamal Osman, a council member who co-authored the policy, said in a statement.
“Today’s vote showed Uber, Lyft, and the Mayor that the Minneapolis City Council will not allow the East African community, or any community, to be exploited for cheap labor,” Osman added. “The Council chooses workers over corporate greed.”
Democratic Gov Tim Walz, who vetoed a bill last year that would have boosted pay for Uber and Lyft drivers, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was concerned because so many depend on those services, including disabled people.
He said he believed the companies would pull the plug, “and there’s nothing to fill that gap.”
Walz added that he hopes the Legislature will seek a compromise that both includes fair pay for drivers and dissuades the companies from leaving.
Seattle and New York City have passed similar policies in recent years that increase wages for ride-hailing drivers, and Uber and Lyft still operate in those cities.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Olympic women's basketball bracket: Schedule, results, Team USA's path to gold
- Stock market today: Asian shares follow Wall Street gains, Hong Kong stocks near 15-month low
- Woman accused of killing pro-war blogger in café bomb attack faces 28 years in Russian prison
- Euphoria’s Dominic Fike Addresses His Future on Season 3
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Albom: Detroit Lions' playoff run becomes center stage for dueling QB revenge tour
- North Korea says it tested underwater nuclear attack drone
- Who spends the most on groceries each week (and who pays the least)? Census data has answers
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Sarah Ferguson shares malignant melanoma diagnosis just months after breast cancer
Ranking
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Woman accused of killing pro-war blogger in café bomb attack faces 28 years in Russian prison
- Packers vs. 49ers highlights: Brock Purdy comes through with late rally
- YouTubers Cody Ko and Kelsey Kreppel Welcome First Baby
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Second tropical cyclone in 2 months expected to hit northern Australia coast
- 'Wide right': Explaining Buffalo Bills' two heartbreaking missed kicks decades apart
- Nikki Haley says Trump tried to buddy up with dictators while in office
Recommendation
'Stranger Things' prequel 'The First Shadow' is headed to Broadway
Rachel McAdams Supports Mean Girls' Reneé Rapp on SNL With Surprise Appearance
‘Burn, beetle, burn': Hundreds of people torch an effigy of destructive bug in South Dakota town
Hearing complaints over property taxes, some Georgia lawmakers look to limit rising values
USA women's basketball live updates at Olympics: Start time vs Nigeria, how to watch
Ancient temple filled with gold and silver jewels discovered in Greece
Colorado newspaper copies stolen from stands on same day a rape report is released
Libya says production has resumed at its largest oilfield after more than 2-week hiatus