Chicago Rideshare Living Wage and Safety Ordinance

When the rideshare industry came to Chicago, driving for Uber or Lyft was a way for Chicagoans to make a good, reliable wage on a flexible schedule. But in the ten years since then, the big rideshare corporations have built a wildly successful business model on keeping fares high while cutting wages for drivers, ignoring their safety needs, and permanently banning them from driver apps with no warning or appeals process. Uber and Lyft have built a rigged system that cheats both passengers and drivers to maximize profits for themselves. To correct these issues and make it possible for gig workers to thrive in Chicago, the Rideshare Living Wage Ordinance will establish safety standards, a living wage, and decent working conditions for rideshare drivers. The ordinance provides for the following:

• Raise driver pay from $.60/mile and $.20/minute to $1.20/ mile and $.30/minute for any regular Uber, Lyft, or Via ride.

• Increase per mile and per minute pay with the Consumer Pricing Index each year.

• Establish a $5 trip minimum, decreasing the driver shortage by guaranteeing each ride is worth a driver’s time

• Automatically pay a clear and transparent 150% surge on all regular rides leaving the city. (If the ride already carried a higher surge than 150%, the higher rate will prevail.)

• Cap the cut that rideshare companies can take from each fare at 20%. Currently, there is no cap: drivers report that rideshare companies often take cuts of 60% or more.

• Require that TNP companies provide transparent fare breakdowns to both passengers and drivers. Currently, passengers have no way to know how much of their fare is actually paid to their driver.

• Require that TNP companies notify drivers 7 days in advance of any suspension and that they have the right to appeal; currently drivers can be indefinitely suspended with no notice.

• Require passenger verification, acknowledging a demand for safety that drivers have been making for years. This ordinance would: It would also establish:

• A public assistance fund from which money can be allocated to provide service to drivers’ vehicles at approved city locations or for assistance in purchasing dividers or dashcams.

• An appeals process with the Department of Administrative Hearings to respond to any suspension by a TNP company.

• The option to use civil action to recoup money from rideshare companies if they violate this ordinance.

• An excluded worker safety committee that would track, research, report on and organize around safety issues.

Chicago’s rideshare drivers love their work. For many, rideshare was a way to make a steady income that was flexible enough to accommodate a drivers’ health or family needs. But rideshare companies have made it so difficult for drivers to stay safe while earning a predictable income that many now find it difficult to stay in the industry. The City Council can create regulation that will lower fares for passengers, protect drivers, and stimulate the local economy by putting money in worker’s pockets rather than continuing to enrich Uber and Lyft. Chicago drivers need your support.

For more information, contact Lori Simmons at loriann@thepeopleslobbyusa.org or (773) 217-8291