Lyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis after city council forces them to pay drivers more

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

Updated 6:21 PM CDT, March 14, 2024

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.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-uber-lyft-ridehailing-minimum-wage-d60db6a2e2580dc1d93c438a8cffa5ee

[Drum]

1. That's definitely a bad look for Uber and Lyft

[jimfields33]

2. Some other outfit will take over or taxis will take up

The slack.

[ZonkerHarris]

3. fuck em both

[Chi67]

18. WTF?

I drove for both for a year and made well over that easily. But that was before the pandemic. If things have changed to the point people are making less than minimum wage, Uber and Lyft should be ashamed.

[Drum]

19. Yes! I'm agreeing with that.

I’m truly sorry for your experiences, as I have also worked in exploitative situations (for prolonged or intense periods.)

[MichMan]

4. Good riddence

[pecosbob]

5. Predatory corporation sez wut?

[AZLD4Candidate]

9. They say "give me my money," like drug dealers and pimps.

[LiberalFighter]

6. Why is Uber better than a taxi company?

[MichMan]

7. For a driver or a customer?

[PSPS]

8. The fares are a little less than taxis because their drivers are paid slave wages and they have no regulations.

Their presence also suppresses the use of mass transit.

[Oopsie Daisy]

10. On-demand door-to-door will always beat mass-transit.

Especially for those with mobility issues and bus stops with routes that are inconvenient to many neighborhoods and common destinations (In our area, the bus routes do not include a swing-through a well-used shopping center with a CVS, Safeway, Target and some well-known franchise restaurants. Instead it stops about 1/8 mile away.)

Most US cities have a very long way to go before mass transportation is as well-meshed with daily living and is as far-reaching as what one finds in European cities.

I like Uber and Lyft. I hope this "strike" ends soon and that everyone works things out.

[TBF]

14. Good point about suppressing mass transit.

[Wonder Why]

12. They definitely offer some nice features that Taxis should be required to adopt

Knowing the cost up front.
Clean cars.
Drivers are rated by customers.
Drivers who have enough fuel so they don't have to stop for gas after they pick you up.
Drivers that don't take you on a roundabout trip to run up the bill.
Drivers that (usually) help you with luggage.
Drivers who you can contact while they are on the way.
Drivers you can track instead of praying they will show up sometime before you need to get to destination.
Able to pay by credit card all the time and get a receipt record of the trip.

[iemanja]

16. Because they actually pick you up

Last time I called a cab company, they hung up on me twice.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Uber and Lyft: "the people driving our cars are so unskilled, they don't deserve the basic wage of a human being"

"Don't worry about safety - we don't!"

[TBF]

13. Don't let the door hit you on the way out Uber -

I have to say I am thrilled young people are starting to push back again and unionize. It's the only thing that has ever worked against the owners. Let them close down. Plenty of folks have cars and can get another service going. Enterprise!

[Igel]

15. This isn't unionization and negotiation.

This is government telling Uber and Lyft what they're going to do.

If it were unionization, there'd be a NRLB case just raring to pounce from the wings.

[iemanja]

17. Will they require taxis companies to pay their employees those wages?

The article doesn't say.