ST PAUL, Minn — Minnesota DFL lawmakers and Governor Tim Walz reached an agreement on Saturday night to increase Uber and Lyft driver's pay and keep both rideshare companies in the state.
"We have reached an agreement with Uber and Lyft that we will set a state-wide rate that will be $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute," said DFL House Majority Leader Jamie Long at a late press conference.
"When you take it as a blended rate that results in a 20% increase in pay for drivers in the state of Minnesota," added Long.
This agreement caps off a year-long back-and-forth between the rideshare companies, the Minneapolis City Council and the state legislature, but still needs approval from the House and Senate before becoming law in Minnesota.
In the original bill proposed by lawmakers, drivers would have made $1.27 per mile and 49 cents per minute.
On Sunday morning, the office of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey issued the following statement: “I have had two overarching goals in this conversation: getting drivers a rate increase and keeping rideshare operating in our city. The State’s per trip rate ultimately pays drivers a wage that is consistent with the figure I proposed several months ago, and I am grateful to State officials for arriving at a workable figure that will accomplish both goals.”
“We applaud the tens of thousands of riders & drivers who sent close to 100,000 emails to legislators - your voices were heard. While the coming price increases may hurt riders and drivers alike, we will be able to continue to operate across the State under the compromise brokered by the Governor," said Uber representative Josh Gold in a statement to KARE 11.
The two companies threatened to pull all operations statewide, starting in July, after the legislature introduced a minimum wage bill for drivers. Lawmakers tried to find a compromise after the Minneapolis City Council already approved a city-wide ordinance to pay drivers $1.40 - $0.13 cents more than the state's proposal.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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