Uber, Lyft hopeful for new minimum wage deal at Minnesota Capitol

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - There was no new movement on Tuesday to set a minimum wage for rideshare drivers and keep Uber and Lyft operating in the state.

But everybody involved at the Capitol sounded more hopeful than before a compromise offered up Monday.

Key players on both sides are telling FOX 9 they think something will get done in the next two weeks, and it’s possible the offer on Monday breaks a logjam even though Uber and Lyft say it’s way out of the range they could accept.

Dozens of Uber and Lyft drivers are sharing the same complaint they lodged last year: They’re not earning enough money on the job to support themselves and their families.

"If your business model relies on keeping people in poverty, you do not have a viable business in Minnesota," said Rep. Hodan Hassan, (DFL-Minneapolis).

The latest development has Minneapolis City Council members agreeing to meet a state pay rate that would be 13 cents per mile below the minimum set by the city earlier this year.

It’s still almost 40 cents per mile more than a large state study said was necessary for drivers to meet the city’s minimum wage.

Republicans echoed Uber and Lyft lobbyists who said the higher wages work for nobody.

"We know that in Seattle when this did this very same thing, drivers drove less, riders rode less, they made less money and it cost more to drive," said Rep. Joe McDonald, (R-Delano).

The rideshare companies have given drivers some concessions since minimum wage discussions started.

They’ve both guaranteed a minimum $5 fare and Lyft is making sure drivers know they’re getting a fair share of the fare.

"Lyft’s new policy as of February of this year means that in aggregate, over the course of a week, a driver will not earn less than 70% of the fare," said Lyft lobbyist John Reich.

But Lyft and Uber leaders say they would leave the entire state, not just the metro, if the currently proposed minimum wage takes effect.

But that first step away from the Minneapolis numbers has negotiations picking up speed.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Gov. Tim Walz, who used his first and only veto so far on a rideshare minimum wage bill in 2023 and ordered the state to study the process. "I think all of us agree."

The House bill has at least one more committee stop before any votes and the Senate is still working on its version as well.