The City: Seattle
The minimum wage proposal is part of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s “Fare Share” program with has also imposed ride share fees.
The policy questions on how to distribute a minimum wage to gig drivers:
- whether the driver uses ride share as his principle source of income
- whether the driver uses ride share as a means to earn extra cash
- current legislative draft: pay drivers $0.56 per minute
- why $0.56 per minute, because if they spend 50% of their time waiting for a share ride, this rate would put them at Seattle’s minimum wage
What do the City’s economists from New School & University of California Berkeley say? Current average driver take-home pay is about $9.73 per hour
What does the industry economist from Cornell say? Drivers earn about $23.25 per hour, above Seattle’s minimum wage.
NY Times | Seattle Passes Minimum Pay Rate for Uber and Lyft Drivers