The Number Of Licensed Taxi Operators In Minneapolis Is Shockingly Low

There is a battle brewing in Minneapolis over how much to pay rideshare drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft. Under the city council proposal, the drivers would be guaranteed a wage of $15.57/hour.

A proposal, according to Axios, would pay them $1.40/mile and 52 cents per minute, while Uber and Lyft have proposed $1.17/mile and 34 cents per minute, which they say would meet the minimum wage threshold.

At the end of February an Uber representative told Axios that if the proposal is approved it would raise prices for riders and could ultimately force the company to leave Minneapolis altogether.

The companies would ultimately like to see a state law passed as opposed to one that only applies to Minneapolis. Walz vetoed a previous law that would have established a statewide minimum for rideshare drivers, specifically after the rideshare companies threatened to leave the state of Minnesota over the bill.

A study by the state of Minnesota found that drivers earned an average of $30.27 per hour on average before tips and expenses and that the new proposal would result in a 10% increase.

One interesting fact that has come out of this now years-long debate is the stunning lack of licensed taxi operators in Minneapolis.

In the Axios story, Minneapolis spokesperson Casper Hill says the city has just 39 licensed cab drivers, a sharp decline from the nearly 2,000 in 2014.