Preface
As required by Executive Order 23-07, issued by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, this report details the findings of “a study to obtain and analyze data and information related to the working conditions of transportation network company (TNC) drivers in Minnesota and how potential changes may impact access and cost for riders.” Because of the urgency and complexity of the analysis needed, the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) contracted with James Parrott of The New School and Michael Reich of the University of California, Berkeley, to complete the study.
This report offers a range of pay standard options to calculate a minimum compensation for TNC drivers that costs out basic expenses and comprehensive benefits. The analysis used Minnesota TNC trip data from 2022 (a data set of more than 18 million rides), a TNC driver survey, and Minnesota expenses and benefits data to determine a range of options for a pay standard. The study focuses on committed drivers, because those are the drivers who are most reliant on these earnings as their primary source of income, and they provide the majority of TNC trips.
The driver earnings analysis and pay standard options build on the consensus recommendations advanced by the Committee on the Compensation, Wellbeing, and Fair Treatment of Transportation Network Company Drivers in its December 2023 report to Governor Walz. Taken together, the policy recommendations and pay standard options meet the charge of the executive order to “promote fairness and transparency for TNC drivers,” and ensure state policies “be informed by research, Minnesota-specific data, discussions, and stakeholder input.”
