Current Events > Ugh, Uber and Lyft are threatening to leave the Twin Cities again

(+) Yeah! (+)

Nothing quite like nervously watching my lifestyle hang in the balance between corrupt corporations and drivers who want to burn everything to the ground and salt the earth, with no desire for any compromise.

https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2024/02/26/uber-lyft-minneapolis-service-threat-driver-pay-mayor-frey

Uber and Lyft have renewed their threats to stop serving Minneapolis if the city council moves ahead with a proposed ordinance setting new pay requirements for rideshare drivers.

Why it matters: Even after negotiating through the winter, Uber, Lyft and driver advocates still don't agree how to address drivers' concerns about low pay.

• How, or whether, they resolve the impasse will affect tens of thousands of Twin Cities drivers and passengers.

Driving the news: The council's latest proposal would require rideshare companies to pay drivers a minimum of $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute while transporting a passenger within city limits.

What they're saying: On Monday, Uber representative Josh Gold told Axios that would lead to "much higher prices for riders and less work and pay for drivers," and would force the company to leave Minneapolis.

• If the ordinance passed, "Lyft would be forced to cease operations in Minneapolis and possibly the rest of the state," according to a company statement.
• Gold added that Uber would prefer to work with state lawmakers on new rules covering all of Minnesota, not just Minneapolis.

Flashback: The city's new rideshare proposal comes really close to numbers floated last year in legislation at both the city and state level. Both of those proposals were vetoed in the wake of similar threats from Uber and Lyft.

The other side: Throughout that debate, driver advocates have maintained the companies were bluffing, trying to shirk their duty to pay workers fairly.

• "Drivers told us that their wages are extremely low and unreliable, their vehicle and fuel costs are high, and their families struggle to make ends meet," city council members Jamal Osman, Robin Wonsley and Jason Chavez wrote earlier this month.

Of note: Mayor Jacob Frey has also urged the council not to act until state officials release results of their own study of rideshare driver pay data.

• In a Feb. 16 email to the council, Frey said he was open to larger wage increases, "so long as the companies and services do not leave the city entirely.

Zoom in: Uber and Lyft have previously proposed a $1.17 per mile, 34-cent-per-minute pay floor. A city analysis found both the council's and the companies' proposals would achieve the city's goal: guarantee rideshare drivers earn at least $15 per hour.

• Yes, but: The analysis found the council's $1.40 per mile, 51-cent-per-minute would more fully compensate drivers for expenses like vehicle wear and tear.

What's next: The city council will hear public testimony on its proposal on Tuesday afternoon.

If youre not doing 15 an hour on uber already then its not worth it at all.

CARRRNE_ASADA posted...

If youre not doing 15 an hour on uber already then its not worth it at all.

I average between $30 and $32 an hour when I drive. I dont know what everyone else is doing to have such low wages.

CARRRNE_ASADA posted...

If youre not doing 15 an hour on uber already then its not worth it at all.

I did meet a driver in Las Vegas that had it figured out. Said he made $100K working 35-40 hours a week during peak times. Only did airport runs. He always sized up the passengers and asked them if they needed booze or edibles before getting to the strip. I bet he always got good tips from people just getting into town.

$1.40 a mile plus 50 cents a minutes sounds extremely excessive and would make the service untenable because of the cost it would force upon users IMO. I can't imagine prices less than *quadrupling* at that rate.
I also don't live in an area with bad congestion or anything though, so maybe I'm overestimating it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0BTdo6qGwo

kelemvor posted...

I did meet a driver in Las Vegas that had it figured out. Said he made $100K working 35-40 hours a week during peak times. Only did airport runs. He always sized up the passengers and asked them if they needed booze or edibles before getting to the strip. I bet he always got good tips from people just getting into town.

Definitely a different culture from the Twin Cities. If I do 60 rides over a weekend, maybe 10 at most will leave a tip.

Block_that_Kick posted...

Driving the news: The council's latest proposal would require rideshare companies to pay drivers a minimum of $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute while transporting a passenger within city limits.

I fully support ridesharing companies treating their drivers as full employees with benefits and paying them better, but that is an absolutely ridiculous amout of money. If you can make ~$50/hr driving for Uber why in god's name would you ever do anything else?

TheDurinator posted...

I fully support ridesharing companies treating their drivers as full employees with benefits and paying them better, but that is an absolutely ridiculous amout of money. If you can make ~$50/hr driving for Uber why in god's name would you ever do anything else?

Isnt that always the argument against raising the wages for anything?

Block_that_Kick posted...

Definitely a different culture from the Twin Cities. If I do 60 rides over a weekend, maybe 10 at most will leave a tip.

And you're lucky to not have your car stolen.

Heres what my take home pay looks like as an Uber driver in the Twin Cities.

Gross pay per hour: $32.00

Less 6.5% taxes: $2.08 (we get to deduct $.67 per mile from our taxes.

Less 10% gas: $3.20

Take home pay per hour: $26.72

Make it into a full time job, youre looking at take home pay of about $55,577 per year. Is that life changing money? Not really. Can you live in relative comfort with that amount? Likely.

But again, I dont know what the other drivers are doing to be barely getting by. Maybe they arent budgeting. Maybe they dont know what they can deduct from their taxes.

People like to say "but the wear and tear and depreciation on your car mean you make barely anything lololol"

Just uber in a Prius, that thing will run forever

Damn, I hope they can figure something out. I spend a week in the TC every month for work. Once I park my car at my hotel I don't drive for the rest of the week, just take Lyfts everywhere until it's time to return home.

At some point it's just going to be cheaper to pay for a cab again. Which will suck for rideshare drivers because up until now they've been able to be a cab driver who can pick their own hours and doesn't actually have to get a cab license which tends to be pretty expensive.

So the proposal passed committee and is going to the full council vote. One step closer to burning a giant hole in my pocket.

https://www.kare11.com/article/money/economy/minneapolis-rideshare-pay-proposal-advances/89-e21984de-4264-4564-a11d-f0d2e63ae3b7