Star Tribune
Minneapolis Uber and Lyft drivers say they’ll start their own rideshare co-op
A group of activist Uber and Lyft drivers on Friday announced a campaign to start a driver-owned rideshare co-op, with the goal of filling the void that would be left if the two rideshare giants make good on their vow to leave next month.
Myriad questions remain about whether the venture could actually be up and running — and at what scale — by May 1, the effective date of a Minneapolis driver-pay requirement that has prompted the companies to announce it won’t be worth their while to do business in the city. Uber has said it will cease operations in the entire seven-county metro area, while Lyft says it will pull out of Minneapolis proper.
Friday’s announcement — by the same group of activist drivers that pushed for the minimum-pay requirements for more than a year — is just one possibility in a parade of ventures flooding the Twin Cities since the two app-based companies announced they would leave. A number of those operations have said they would comply with Minneapolis’ new ordinance.
But the co-op endeavor has the blessing of the Minnesota Uber and Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA), a group of drivers that’s won allies among the City Council members who overrode Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of the driver-pay ordinance, along with a number of legislators pushing for a statewide minimum pay law.
MULDA officials said Friday they’ll support any new rideshare operations that treat drivers fairly. But they held Friday’s news conference, peppered with applause from roughly two dozen drivers, to announce this particular effort.
The co-op plan carries at at least two other distinctions that could prove advantageous:
- The idea is based on a 12,000-driver-strong co-op that has operated in New York City for three years. A co-founder of that organization — the Drivers Cooperative, which operates the Co-op Ride app — flew into town to pledge his support for the effort here.
- Having no corporate shareholders, or lacking the air of a global capitalist venture, might endear the effort to those who have grown skeptical of Uber and Lyft, publicly traded companies that recently became profitable.
“It’s the beginning of a new era of justice in the rideshare industry,” MULDA President Eid Ali said, adding that the hope is for the co-op to eventually serve the entire state.
The effort has a long way to go and a lot of money to raise. Uber and Lyft each spend millions annually in state-mandated insurance alone. Erik Forman, a co-founder of the Drivers Cooperative, estimated that $200,000 would be needed to get a local co-op off the ground, “at a bare minimum.”
First, he said, the local market needs to demonstrate there’s an appetite. Forman and Ali sketched out a two-pronged campaign: get drivers and riders signed up, and gin up investors.
They urged prospective riders to download the New York-based Co-op Ride app and register with their Minnesota information. They also encouraged drivers to do the same with the Co-op Driver app; Forman said some 200 drivers had registered as of Friday afternoon. The more riders and drivers sign up, the more viable the endeavor will appear, they said.
What it takes
While rideshare companies face lower barriers to entry than taxi companies, they’re still regulated by state statutes and local codes in cities such as Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC).
Here are some of the requirements that startups face in order to handle a ride between Minneapolis and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the most common ride taken in the state.
Licenses: Obtaining a license to operate in Minneapolis will likely take a few weeks after an application has been submitted that meets all of the city’s requirements. Drivers also need to get a license from the MAC.
Insurance: In addition to each driver needing to carry insurance, state law requires a series of insurance policies for each driver that are purchased by the rideshare company. Topping the menu: $1.5 million in liability coverage.
Criminal background checks: Drivers must clear a criminal background check, paid for by the rideshare company using the driver.
Vehicle inspection: Every vehicle must be inspected for basic roadworthiness and safety.
Also attending Friday’s news conference was Mustafah Sheikh, who announced he hoped to locally launch his ride-hailing app, Hich, before May 1. Hich, which operates in some parts of Canada and Africa, is different from Hitch, a long-distance ride rideshare company.
Here are some of the other ventures that have indicated a desire to come to the Twin Cities: MOOV, Empower, Pikapp, Wridz, Revo and Teleport.
Star Tribune
One man shot dead, another wounded near Willmar soon after gunman opened fire from Lyndale Av. balcony
Bystanders observing the scene in Minneapolis recalled hearing the female police negotiator pleading with Matariyeh to surrender. When shots rang out over the phone, the negotiator dropped to her knees and cried. Colleagues could be seen comforting her.
O’Hara said the shots in Minneapolis were fired shortly after an altercation involving Matariyeh’s ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend, who arrived to the apartment to retrieve some items. Matariyeh and the woman share a child, who was at day care at the time. Police went there to ensure the child’s safety shortly after the suspect fled. The ex-girlfriend and the boyfriend were also not harmed.
The chief said that when police initially responded, it was unclear whether the suspect was still inside the apartment. There is no indication of a domestic violence history between the pair.
At one point after Mayerchak was shot, an officer or dispatcher radioed that the suspect was the man from Minneapolis: “He did say he was willing to shoot cops. Proceed cautiously.”
A short time later, the suspect was leading police on a chase of speeds of more than 100 mph while on the phone with the Minneapolis negotiator, threatening “suicide by cop.”
At about 2:29 p.m., Matariyeh was arrested, and a gun was recovered in the ditch.
He said he would continue to support economic development projects, including one aimed at stabilizing the riverfront and preserving cultural sites that were significant to both the Dakota people and European settlers.
“We want to have good things,” Whiting said. “I’m pretty fiscally conservative for being called the liberal that I am. But, if it makes sense, we’re going to do it.”
Yttreness, who has lived in Shakopee since 1998, spent years with the Fire Department, serving first as a volunteer. He worked most recently as assistant fire chief, a role he left earlier this year.
Yttreness declined to speak in detail about his management of the department, saying, “I’m no longer with them, so that’s the past.”
He said he is running to “get involved in trying to manage the city’s expenses more” and “give some guidance and support to our city employees, public works, police.” He said he believes his knowledge of city operations could be helpful and he wants to “try to do zero tax increases, if possible.”
Authorities identified a 35-year-old St. Paul woman found shot to death last week in a North End apartment.
The St. Paul Police Department said Damara Alexis Stowers was the woman found shot in her apartment on Oct. 19.
Police found Stowers at around 9 p.m. in the dwelling in the 100 block of Sycamore Street East after reports of a shooting. Officers rendered aid until Saint Paul fire medics arrived and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Investigators believe a carjacking reported that same night is connected to Stowers death, but no arrests have been announced. The victim in that carjacking was shot, but Regions Hospital staff treated them for noncritical injuries.
Stowers’ death marked the fourth homicide in the capital city in 10 days, and the 25th homicide this year according to a Star Tribune database. There were 28 homicides by this time last year.
