MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City County will decide on Thursday afternoon whether to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto and raise wages for rideshare drivers.
Depending on which way the vote goes, it could mean the loss of Uber and Lyft services in the city as early as May 1.
Frey says the ordinance passed last week by council members was “dramatically off.” And with the help of new data, he believes there’s a way to strike a balance between paying drivers more and keeping rideshare companies operating in the city.
The ordinance has created concern among downtown business groups like the Minneapolis Downtown Council, citing worries about the city’s future ability to host events like the Big Ten Tournament.
Raising wages or not, Minneapolis residents say it’s a tough call.
“I think it would be tough for us, like we’re trying to come downtown, we want to have a good time, we want to be able to, you know, have a few drinks, enjoy a good time with friends, like I want to be able to take Uber or Lyft to get home not have to worry about driving, figuring that stuff out,” said resident Stephen Prica.
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“It’s worth whatever they need to get paid to just do it. Because at the end of the day, we got to get home safe and get home to our families,”‘ said resident Evan Kornacki.
There are other rideshare services willing to step up to the plate if there’s an absence of Uber and Lyft. The app InDrive is big in other parts of the world and is starting to roll out in the United States, but it can’t commit to coming to Minneapolis just yet.
“There are different regulations, insurance requirements, state rules and licensing that need to go through,” said InDrive’s Adam Warner. “So if a company is able to pull those things together in a relatively short amount of time, I do see that there’s an opportunity.”
Representatives from another rideshare app, Empower, say they’re ready to go and “have complete confidence that there will be no disruption in access to ridehail services should Uber and Lyft leave Minneapolis.”
Despite threats in the past, Uber and Lyft have never left a city because of a minimum pay measure.
The council will meet at 1 p.m. to consider the veto.
