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Rideshare ordinance gets green light, advancing to full council
Lyft and Uber are again threatening to leave the city if it passes.
MINNEAPOLIS — A proposal that would require rideshare companies to raise minimum driver pay is back on the table in Minneapolis.
The Business, Housing & Zoning Committee voted Tuesday afternoon to advance a plan authored by council members Jason Chavez, Jamal Osman and Robin Wonsley to the full city council for a final vote on Thursday, March 7.
Lyft and Uber are again threatening to leave Minneapolis if it passes. They also said this last year, when council passed a measure setting minimum pay standards for drivers. However, Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed it.
“From the feedback we gathered, it is clear that we must allow more time for deliberation,” Frey wrote in a letter at the time. “We need both additional data and conversations to be had to ensure the essential safety and well-being of rideshare drivers and riders alike.”
Similarly at the capitol last year, Governor Tim Walz vetoed a rideshare bill but started a state task force instead. That task force met for 6 months and in late December offered a list of recommendations, including that minimum compensation be paid in a per-minute, per-mile format. “At a minimum, compensation should be $5 for any transportation of a rider by a driver,” the report reads.
Minneapolis’ proposal would require rideshare companies to pay drivers at least $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute, or a minimum $5 per ride while working within city limits. It would also require the companies to give drivers 80% of fees collected for canceled trips.
Dozens of people spoke at a public hearing before the vote, including State Sen. Omar Fateh (D-62, DFL) and various rideshare organizations. All of the speakers expressed support for the plan.
“We drive when there’s 6 inches of snow out, we drive when we take a customer to Mayo or to Rochester, we drive when we have to take a customer to Duluth, so we need the city of Minneapolis to stand up for us,” said one Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association member with more than 10,000 Lyft rides under his belt.
“If you have to drive 30 miles to pick up someone to make $5, if you do the math it’s not worth it,” another driver added.
Nondrivers also spoke in support.
“Pull out of the city, I don’t see that happening, and even if it did, I don’t believe we should be afraid of the task of building community grounded alternatives,” he said.
Monday, several organizations sent letters urging council not to pass the ordinance, including the Chamber of Progress, Minnesota Hospitality, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association and MPLS Downtown Council. They expressed concern over increased costs for riders, which they say would reduce availability of rideshare services and overall driver earnings.
“The proposed policy would raise the cost of rideshare for riders, with disproportionate impacts on lower-income Minneapolis riders,” MPLS Downtown Council President and CEO Adam Duininck wrote, adding that 56% of Lyft rides in the Twin Cities start or end in low-income areas. “Higher-income riders will likely be less sensitive to cost increases, but we are concerned that the proposed policy would turn rideshare into a benefit for wealthy residents and hurt low-income riders.”
Tuesday’s vote was 5 to 1, with council member Michael Rainville voting no.
Lyft and Uber sent KARE 11 these statements in response to the proposed ordinance:
“In the past few weeks alone, we have announced several new steps to improve driver earnings and transparency. This includes just this month announcing a new earnings commitment where drivers will always make at least 70% of the weekly rider fares after external fees. This is how we can improve driver earnings in a smart and deliberate way. The Council’s proposed bill, however, ignores economic reality. It pushes the same egregious mandates that were vetoed by the Mayor last year, and it could make rides on Lyft too expensive for too many. Should it become law, Lyft would be forced to cease operations in Minneapolis and possibly the rest of the state when it takes effect.”
“The proposed rates mean much higher prices for riders and less work and pay for drivers. After a period of near record inflation there aren’t many governments out there whose big idea is to make things more expensive. We have numerous concerns with the legislation which would force us to cease operating a transportation network company. The Governor’s task force put forward a comprehensive statewide proposal and we look forward to continuing working with the legislature on getting that passed this year.”
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April Rodriguez was last seen Monday morning on the 5400 block of Chicago Avenue wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and carrying a Hello Kitty backpack.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police are asking for the public’s help finding a 13-year-old girl who never returned from school.
April Rodriguez was last seen Monday morning on the 5400 block of Chicago Avenue wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and carrying a Hello Kitty backpack. Officials believe she went to school, but never returned home.
April is 5-foot-6, 120 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
Anyone who sees April should call 911, and anyone with information about where she may be is encouraged to contact the MPD at 612-673-5845 or at policetips@minneapolismn.gov. People can also leave anonymous information through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by submitting them electronically here.
Travis Boyd’s journey to his Minnesota Wild debut reads like a Minnesota folk tale. A trek through snowy traffic in dress shoes, making it just in time for warmups.
ST PAUL, Minn — For Hopkins native Travis Boyd, the path to his Minnesota Wild debut, quite literally, involved walking through a storm. But after battling back from a devastating pectoral injury and weathering the uncertainties of the Arizona Coyotes’ relocation to Utah, a little Calgary snowfall wasn’t going to stop him from living out his childhood dream.
“I had my gear bag over my shoulder, trudging through the snow, cars barely moving on the road beside me,” Boyd recalled, a smile creeping across his face as he sat in the Wild locker room. “But honestly, it felt perfect. Like everything that led to this moment had prepared me for one more challenge.”
The former University of Minnesota standout’s journey to wearing forest green has been anything but straightforward. Last season, a torn pectoral muscle sidelined him just as he was finding his rhythm with the Coyotes, forcing him to watch from the press box as the franchise played its final games in Arizona before the announced move to Utah.
“That injury tests you mentally as much as physically,” Boyd explained. “You can’t even lift your arm above your shoulder for weeks.”
When the team’s relocation to Utah was announced, Boyd was a free agent and still recovering from his injury. He decided it was time to find a new home, but it only led him back home to Minnesota. Boyd signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Wild in the off-season. He’s been playing in Iowa for the AHL Wild affiliate all year.
Over the weekend, he got the emergency call up to play for the Wild after two-star players were out with injuries. He took three different planes to get to Calgary from Iowa.
After he landed and got his bags at 12:30 p.m., Boyd hoped into a car with the team’s services manager. Calgary’s notorious winter weather slowed traffic to a standstill around the Saddledome, Boyd found himself stuck in gridlock with game time quickly approaching. Rather than risk being late, he shouldered his equipment bag and set out on foot, trekking three blocks through the traffic in only a suit and dress shoes.
“I had maybe 15 minutes to get dressed once I got there,” Boyd said, shaking his head with a smile. “But you know what? It felt like coming full circle. From playing youth hockey in Hopkins to wearing the ‘M’ for the Gophers, and now this — walking through a snowstorm to play for the Wild. It’s very Minnesotan.”
The video of his snowy sprint became more than just a viral moment—it was a symbol of Boyd’s resilience. His ultimate goal remains clear: “I know I’m an NHL player. I just gotta continue playing, and I know things will start to come back. They already are.”
Travis Boyd’s journey to his Minnesota Wild debut reads like a Minnesota folk tale. A trek through snowy traffic in dress shoes, making it just in time for warmups.
ST PAUL, Minn — For Hopkins native Travis Boyd, the path to his Minnesota Wild debut, quite literally, involved walking through a storm. But after battling back from a devastating pectoral injury and weathering the uncertainties of the Arizona Coyotes’ relocation to Utah, a little Calgary snowfall wasn’t going to stop him from living out his childhood dream.
“I had my gear bag over my shoulder, trudging through the snow, cars barely moving on the road beside me,” Boyd recalled, a smile creeping across his face as he sat in the Wild locker room. “But honestly, it felt perfect. Like everything that led to this moment had prepared me for one more challenge.”
The former University of Minnesota standout’s journey to wearing forest green has been anything but straightforward. Last season, a torn pectoral muscle sidelined him just as he was finding his rhythm with the Coyotes, forcing him to watch from the press box as the franchise played its final games in Arizona before the announced move to Utah.
“That injury tests you mentally as much as physically,” Boyd explained. “You can’t even lift your arm above your shoulder for weeks.”
When the team’s relocation to Utah was announced, Boyd was a free agent and still recovering from his injury. He decided it was time to find a new home, but it only led him back home to Minnesota. Boyd signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Wild in the off-season. He’s been playing in Iowa for the AHL Wild affiliate all year.
Over the weekend, he got the emergency call up to play for the Wild after two-star players were out with injuries. He took three different planes to get to Calgary from Iowa.
After he landed and got his bags at 12:30 p.m., Boyd hoped into a car with the team’s services manager. Calgary’s notorious winter weather slowed traffic to a standstill around the Saddledome, Boyd found himself stuck in gridlock with game time quickly approaching. Rather than risk being late, he shouldered his equipment bag and set out on foot, trekking three blocks through the traffic in only a suit and dress shoes.
“I had maybe 15 minutes to get dressed once I got there,” Boyd said, shaking his head with a smile. “But you know what? It felt like coming full circle. From playing youth hockey in Hopkins to wearing the ‘M’ for the Gophers, and now this — walking through a snowstorm to play for the Wild. It’s very Minnesotan.”
The video of his snowy sprint became more than just a viral moment—it was a symbol of Boyd’s resilience. His ultimate goal remains clear: “I know I’m an NHL player. I just gotta continue playing, and I know things will start to come back. They already are.”
