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The Portland Metro Chamber and a coalition that includes the city’s professional sports teams and arts groups implored the Portland City Council in a letter today not to pass a proposed policy that would restrict the portion of a fare that ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft could take from each trip.
While the two councilors championing the proposal say it will raise drivers’ take-home pay with a greater share of their ride fees, the companies have warned that passing such a policy would steeply increase fares and jeopardize their operations in Portland. Uber has threatened it may leave the city altogether.
The Metro Chamber joined forces with a coalition called We Play for Portland, which includes the Portland Trail Blazers, the Portland Timbers, Sport Oregon, Travel Portland, the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theatre and the Portland Opera, to warn the council of what it called “deep concerns about the unintended consequences these policies could have on Portland’s economy, cultural vitality, and accessibility.”
“At a time when Portland is working to rebuild its economy and restore confidence in downtown and the broader region, policies that risk reducing access to reliable, affordable transportation would move us in the wrong direction,” the April 3 letter reads. “Policies that significantly increase the cost of rideshare services—or create an environment where companies may reduce service levels or exit the market altogether—pose a direct threat to our city’s transportation ecosystem and to the livelihoods of the group those policies are intended to support."
The group said that after a similar proposal passed in Seattle, “prices reportedly rose by approximately 40 percent, and demand dropped sharply.”
Councilors Steve Novick and Elana Pirtle-Guiney are co-sponsoring the policy, which has not yet made it to the full council for a first or second vote.
Novick in a phone call with WW said he stands by the proposal.
“One of my worries about letting Uber and Lyft in, in 2014, is that gig drivers would be poorly treated and wind up making less than minimum wage. And based on the research we’ve seen, that is what has happened,” Novick says. “I think that’s a problem. We believe in fair wages in Portland, and we want to get fair wages for the Uber and Lyft drivers.” (Novick has said research shows Uber drivers make on average $12 an hour. Lyft has disputed that figure, saying its drivers make closer to $38 an hour.)
Novick says Uber’s threat to leave the city is an “interesting threat” that’s worth noting, but still, he says, “it reminds me of how anytime there’s been a proposal to raise the minimum wage in Oregon, the restaurant association says restaurants will cease to exist in Oregon. And somehow that hasn’t happened.”
Pirtle-Guiney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Uber spokesman Zahid Arab issued a statement March 26 that, should the policy pass, “we would have to shut down rideshare service in Portland. That’s not a negotiating tactic, it’s a math issue.”
The proposal is likely to be heard by a council committee next month.
