(TheConservativeTimes.org) – The future of Uber and Lyft ride-sharing services has been unknown after recent events have taken place.
The city told ride-sharing companies that they would need to pay drivers a higher hourly rate if they were driving within city limits. In response to this, Uber and Lyft said that they would be pulling out their ride-sharing services and would no longer service those areas.
According to them, the ride-share agreement will end at the beginning of next month. There’s been a lot of controversy over the decision and many are wondering what this means for residents who rely on these ride-sharing services.
When the announcement for the higher hourly rate for drivers was made, supporters felt like the rate would ensure that they were paid the minimum wage of the city, which is a little above fifteen dollars an hour.
“Drivers are human beings with families, and they deserve dignified minimum wages like all other workers. … the Minneapolis City Council will not allow the East African community, or any community, to be exploited for cheap labor,” said Council Member Jamal Osman, who co-authored the changes.
Many have advocated for the rate increase but after more investigation, it was discovered that many drivers already make above minimum wage, which meant they didn’t need to pay out as much as they were asking for.
Uber and Lyft have said that they can accommodate the rate increase but that they’d still be leaving the market at the beginning of next month. The metro area has about three billion people which is a giant market for ride-sharing companies.
Uber has said that they will pull out operations across Minneapolis, however, Lyft said they’d still service the airport area but no further than that.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen these companies pull out of markets as both of them years ago pulled out of Austin, Texas because the city was pushing fingerprint-based background checks for the drivers as a safety measure.
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