Minnesota lawmakers, Gov. Walz reach rideshare deal
Uber / Lyft (Minneapolis Public Works TPP / Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
DFL leaders in the Senate and House say they’ve reached an agreement with Uber and Lyft that would increase pay for rideshare drivers.
It calls for a minimum payment of $1.28 per mile – and 31 cents per minute.
It would also preempt a Minneapolis policy that would have set its own city-wide wage minimum.
Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Sunday morning she’s “deeply disappointed” that the governor and legislative leaders gave into Uber and Lyft on the preemption issue.
Read Councilmember Wonsley’s full statement at the bottom of this article.
Mayor Frey weighed in on the rideshare agreement on Sunday, saying, “I have had two overarching goals in this conversation: getting drivers a rate increase and keeping rideshare operating in our city. The State’s per trip rate ultimately pays drivers a wage that is consistent with the figure I proposed several months ago, and I am grateful to State officials for arriving at a workable figure that will accomplish both goals.”
Republican leaders also issued a statement saying they were shut out of discussions about the deal.
A spokesperson for Uber said on Sunday, “We applaud the tens of thousands of riders & drivers who sent close to 100,000 emails to legislators – your voices were heard. While the coming price increases may hurt riders and drivers alike, we will be able to continue to operate across the State under the compromise brokered by the Governor.”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to Lyft for comment and has not heard back.
The rideshare companies had previously said they would not agree to the legislature’s proposal without a preemption for Minneapolis.