Mpls. officials say first year for Uber, Lyft was a success

A year after Minneapolis approved ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft, city officials say they've fielded no complaints over peak-hour price surges or failures to pick up people who have requested a ride.

Minneapolis was one of the first cities in the country to legalize the businesses, which allow drivers to use their own vehicles and require passengers to summon a ride using smartphone apps.

In a City Council committee meeting Tuesday, a licensing official said the city is pleased with how Lyft and Uber have operated, including in terms of how quickly they pick up passengers.

A recent Star Tribune review of pickup data submitted by the services showed that drivers tended to stick to the highest-traffic areas of the city and were more likely to avoid certain neighborhoods, including some in north Minneapolis.

But Pat Hilden, a city district licensing supervisor, said regulators recently ran a "secret shopper" operation on the north side, putting in four requests for Uber and four more for Lyft rides at different times of the day and night. On average, the inspectors heard back from drivers in a minute and were picked up in five minutes. The longest wait for a ride was 12 minutes.

In a separate series of inspections, city staff members summoned 10 rides and found a number of violations. The most common were failing to comply with "trade dress" — meaning that the driver didn't have the required stickers in car windows (or, in the case of Lyft, a pink moustache officially referred to as a "cuddlestache.")

Other violations included those for drivers who couldn't come up with proof of insurance or an inspection sheet for the car.

"(City) staff has a good feeling there won't be any problems in the near future," he said.

Meanwhile, the most common violations found in traditional taxis during a week of inspections in July were problems with the condition of vehicles.

The city is also making progress in adding more cabs that are fully accessible for people with disabilities, Hilden said. Minneapolis now has 20 wheelchair-accessible taxis that are available around the clock.
Council Member Jacob Frey, who led last year's push to legalize Lyft and Uber, said cities around the country are now duplicating Minneapolis' regulation system for ride-sharing services.

"This is an opportunity, I think, to brag because we did this very well, knowing full well that some alterations would become apparent following a year after," he said.

City officials are proposing a handful of changes to Minneapolis' regulations, including allowing city staff members to run background checks on Uber and Lyft drivers and dropping a requirement that drivers must be residents of Minnesota or Wisconsin.