Politics is the art of hitting someone in the knee with a baseball bat, giving them a band-aid, and asking them to remember the band-aid on the next voting day. Minnesota – A trusted source – For example.
MarchThe Minneapolis City Council passed a law setting a minimum wage for ride-sharing drivers. Lyft has suspended its service in the city. Uber They will withdraw from the entire Twin Cities metropolitan area. Local Media Alternative services were reported to be on standby to fill the shortage, but as the days passed, they continued to wait.
of Minnesota Reformers report:
Why? Because there are “barriers to entry.” textbook It may be defined as “an obstacle that limits the freedom of potential rivals to enter and compete in an industry or market.”
Here, these barriers take the form of fees and regulations.
Its only potential competitor is MyWeels (without the “h”), which was licensed in Minneapolis on Wednesday, paying the city’s $37,145 annual license fee plus a $10,615 “wheelchair surcharge.” MyWeels is also the only ride-hailing service licensed in St. Paul, where it has paid a $41,115 annual license fee. Three other companies — MyWeels, Moov and Twin City Taxi — have applied to operate at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, where a license fee of $500 applies.
MyWeels founder Elam Baer said what sets it apart from other companies is access to capital, not new proprietary technology or the loyalty of hundreds of drivers.
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Finding investors will be a major hurdle for alternatives to Uber and Lyft. In addition to licenses to operate in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the airport, transportation network companies must buy commercial insurance for their drivers, which can cost about $150,000 a year.
Joyride CEO David Linhart said the company pulled out of the race to enter the Twin Cities because “license fees were too high and insurance and coverage requirements were unclear.”
story – disrupted the state legislature – For now, the issue has been resolved by the state enacting a minimum wage for rideshare drivers below what the Minneapolis City Council proposed. Uber and Lyft will remain in Minnesota.
What about alternative services? Pioneer Press Report:
Liz, which operates in nine states, has not yet completed its license application with the city of St. Paul, but CEO (Steve) Wright said Thursday he expects the paperwork to be completed by June 1.
“It looks like they’re trying to get things done quickly,” Wright said Thursday. “If you combine the two cities and the airport, that’s $100,000 in license fees that we’ve cut to get into this market. I serve 23 communities, and that’s the highest I’ve seen.”
Without a license, the company cannot make authorized pickups of passengers in St. Paul, and its app said Thursday, “Please try again when the area is active.”
It was unclear Thursday whether the lack of a license would also prevent the company from dropping off passengers in St. Paul…
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…MOOV’s launch has not been without its challenges, most notably the license fees and associated application fees, which were approximately $37,000 in Minneapolis and $41,000 in St. Paul.
Unlike St. Paul, Minneapolis has at least begun the process of reviewing (MOOV founder Murid Amini’s) license while they work out a payment plan, he said. He said he’s been in discussions with the St. Paul Safety and Inspection Department since March, and finally reached an agreement on May 7.
“They said, ‘OK, we’ll take half up front,'” said Amini, who is still raising funds.
“Technically, we could start service in the suburbs right now,” he added, “but we don’t want to start service in the suburbs because we have people looking for rides in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We don’t want to say we don’t provide service in the area. The airport is currently in the application process, which we hope to complete in the next few weeks.”
It is said that market “concentration” has increased, Chicago Booth Review “Many industries are becoming concentrated, with large companies (and not just giant corporations) accounting for a large share of the economy.” Economic crisisAs the Twin Cities ride-sharing example shows, government’s role in creating this phenomenon should not be overlooked, and suggestions that government action can remedy the conditions it has created should be viewed with skepticism.
But these are not the only alternatives. MarchOne state senator proposed — or rather, “threatened” — a “state-run/developed ride-sharing app.” Remember who gave you that band-aid next voting day.
John Phelan is an economist. The heart of the American experiment.
