As Uber, Lyft departure looms, Minneapolis council could reconsider ordinance next week
Council Member Rainville says rideshare ordinance is ‘a move too fast'
The Minneapolis City Council could reconsider its controversial ordinance boosting rideshare driver pay next Thursday. If there’s no action taken, Uber and Lyft say they’ll cease operations in the city and beyond by May 1.
Council Member Michael Rainville was one of three votes against overturning a veto from Mayor Frey on the ordinance earlier this year, and he shared his thoughts in an op-ed in the Star Tribune Monday.
He told MPR News the decision by his colleagues was “a move too fast” and that he’s hearing disappointment from low-income and disability communities.
According to data from Lyft, Target and Cub Foods locations are among the top drop-off and pickup spots for customers.
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“These are low-income people using this as a form of transportation for their daily lives,” Rainville said. “I got a very, very touching email from a father whose two daughters worked in the North Loop — one as a bartender, one’s a waitress — and they love their jobs, but they take Uber to and from work for the safety aspect … what father wants their daughter to be out at 2:30 in the morning, walking alone to a parking ramp. So I’m getting an overwhelming response from a multitude of people that will be affected by this ordinance.”
Rainville is a long-time supporter of unions, previously serving in a leadership role. He also told MPR News he got the most labor endorsements of any candidate in the last city council election.
“I do believe in living wages very, very strongly. It’s put me in the position that I’m in. But this is an issue where we need help from the state of Minnesota to figure this out,” he said. “The airport is not in the city of Minneapolis. So many of these rides are not contingent on the city of Minneapolis.”
Some lawmakers like Sen. Omar Fateh are suggesting a state rideshare or other state-led solution to boost pay and protections for drivers.
Minneapolis City Council Member Andrea Jenkins — who voted in favor of overriding Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto — announced last month she would introduce a notice to reconsider, which could come up for a vote on Thursday, April 11.
In response, Frey said in a statement: “Thus far, the Council has been unwilling to engage all relevant parties in developing the ordinance they pushed through… But there has been and still is room for compromise to ensure drivers who rely on rideshare services for a paycheck get a raise and riders who rely on the service can continue getting around our city.”
Meanwhile, taxi industry leadership says they’re ready to pivot to meet customer needs and smaller rideshare companies are signing up to service the city should Uber and Lyft make good on their threat to leave. In other cities like Austin, Texas, the rideshare giants stopped service and smaller companies came in, only to fall to the rideshare duopoly once a statewide solution was found.