Uber leaving Minneapolis: App launches lobbying effort for state legislation

Uber leaving Minneapolis: Council debates fix

Work is underway at the Minneapolis City Council to change an ordinance that gives a pay raise to ride-hailing app drivers, but has Uber and Lyft threatening to leave the city by May.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Uber unveiled a new lobbying effort on Wednesday to pressure state lawmakers to move forward with legislation to keep the ride-hailing app in Minneapolis.

Both Uber and Lyft are promising to end service in Minneapolis after the city council passed a new ordinance guaranteeing a pay raise for drivers. The apps say the new legislation will "drastically" increase costs for riders. Uber says they will pull out of the entire Twin Cities metro as a result of the law. While Lyft is only planning to stop service in Minneapolis.

In the announcement on Wednesday, Uber launched a new website as part of their lobbying campaign titled "#BringRidesBack". The website, BringRidesBack.com, allows riders to send emails to their legislators telling them to move forward with legislation to keep Uber in the metro.

The campaign was launched in an email sent to Uber users last week, but the effort hasn't caught on much so far. As of Wednesday morning, as far as FOX 9 can tell, the #BringRidesBack hashtag had only been used twice on X and four times publicly on Facebook.

"Uber supports legislation based on the State study that would ensure all drivers in Minnesota make at least the minimum wage after expenses, while also providing them new benefits like on-the-job injury protection," a news release reads.

While Uber puts pressure on state lawmakers, Minneapolis council members are also considering changes to the ordinance.

Last week, council members discussed potential changes to the ordinance, with a coalition of council members set to propose a fix during meetings in April. However, it's not clear how those changes will manifest and if they will get Uber and Lyft will change course.

Tuesday, council members were also set to consider funding to assist new ride-hailing apps entering the Minneapolis market, and encouraging riders to switch to them. However, that proposal was kicked to another committee. It is set to be heard on April 8.

If Uber does follow through with its plans to pull out of the Twin Cities, it would be the only U.S. metro the company doesn't serve.