Minneapolis’ city council on Thursday voted unanimously to delay the start date for rideshare drivers’ minimum wage to July, giving Uber and Lyft two extra months to hammer out a compromise.
The ordinance, which sets the local minimum wage to $15.57 an hour, will take effect on July 1 after its original May 1 start date.
The decision to push the start date comes after warnings from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and rideshare companies that May 1 was too soon and would force the companies to stop operating in the city.
During the two months, council members will likely meet with business leaders at Uber and Lyft to create a more acceptable minimum wage for drivers. Currently, the city ordinance provides drivers with $1.40 per mile and $0.51 every minute. Some council members want to lower the mile wage to $1.21 but maintain the per-minute wage.
Minneapolis’ city council passed the ordinance in March, but faced opposition from Mr. Frey, who said the law would be dangerous for the city. He vetoed the measure, but it was overridden by the city council.
In response, Uber and Lyft threatened to leave the city, saying the increases in wages would limit their ability to provide affordable prices to customers.
Rideshare companies typically work on razor-thin margins while providing important services for people in big cities and rural areas. Yet Uber didn’t report a loss last year. According to the company’s 2023 financial report, it ended the year with over $1 billion in operating profit compared with a $1.8 billion loss in 2022.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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