Portland’s most prominent business lobbying group is coming out against a ride-hailing wage increase proposal that has yet to be finalized.

The draft proposal, last discussed by Portland city councilors in February, would essentially raise take-home pay for Uber and Lyft drivers in Portland by limiting how much money the companies can take from a driver for each trip. The companies are warning that the move would dramatically increase costs, and Uber said it could force them out of Oregon’s largest city.

The Portland Metro Chamber, which represents more than 2,300 businesses in the region, opposes the proposal. Meanwhile, some ride-hailing drivers applaud the effort and have continually told city council how challenging it is to make ends meet.

The proposal has yet to be scheduled for a council vote.

After first raising the idea at a committee meeting, city councilors reached out to Uber and Lyft to work with them on the proposal. In the meantime, trade groups representing Portland businesses, along with nonprofit arts and sports groups, have rallied in opposition to the proposal.

Here are answers to six questions to help lay out the basic proposal and how it would affect ride-hailing services in Portland:

What’s the proposal?

In a February committee meeting, councilors discussed capping the portion of a fare that Uber and Lyft can take from a driver at 20%. Right now, the amount changes, and at times the companies take more than 40% of the fare.

At that committee meeting, some drivers told city councilors that gas and car maintenance costs are going up. Meanwhile, drivers say their earnings are going down even as customer fares are going up because they have to share a portion of fares with Uber and Lyft. That portion shifts depending on the time and length of the ride.

“The percentage of each ride we receive is a sheer insult to our value,” Kiva Henderson, a ride share driver since 2015, told councilors. “I love my job. I value my job. I want to get paid for my value.”

How much do Uber and Lyft drivers get paid?

City staff point to research from the Center for Wage and Employment Dynamics that shows Uber and Lyft drivers make just over $12 per hour on average in Portland. Minimum wage in Portland is $16.30 per hour.

“Because drivers are independent contractors, they have to cover the cost of their car, fuel, and insurance, but also retirement, health care costs and time off if they get sick,” Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney, who helped author the draft proposal, told OPB. “We have to make sure they are making enough to live and work in Portland.”

The companies tend to track wages only when a driver has a rider in the car. For those times, Uber and Lyft have both publicly stated that drivers in Portland make $30 or more per hour.

What are the companies saying about the proposal?

Uber and Lyft have said if the proposal goes through, it could jeopardize their presence in Portland.

“This proposal would force Uber to exit Portland when the ordinance takes effect,” an Uber spokesperson said in an emailed statement to OPB. “The City already imposes the highest per-trip fee in the country and unusually high government mandated insurance requirements; these two costs alone exceed the 20% limit.”

The Uber spokesperson said the added cost of the proposal on top of safety investments and operating expenses would cause the company to raise fares or operate at a loss for most trips.

“We are still at the table with rideshare companies to get the policy right,” Pirtle-Guiney said. “I am surprised that they are threatening to leave the market when we are still in conversations with them.”

Why are business, sports and arts groups opposing the draft proposal?

Last week, the Portland Metro Chamber, Oregon Symphony, Portland Trail Blazers and other groups came out against the draft proposal.

“While we applaud any effort to ensure that drivers are fairly compensated,” the groups wrote in a public letter, “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 business, sports and arts groups assert that if companies offering these services scale back in Portland it could hurt attendance at concerts, games and other events. That could also mean a hit to the city’s tourism.

In a statement to OPB, a Lyft spokesperson said the company is “pleased so many of Portland’s leading institutions, including the Blazers, Timbers, and the Oregon Symphony and Ballet,” oppose the measure.

How long have Uber and Lyft operated in Portland? How’s it going?

Portland has a rocky history with companies that allow people to hail rides through apps on their phones. In late 2014, the city threatened legal action against Uber after the company began operating in Portland before the city had established policies. City councilors eventually adopted regulations in 2015, legalizing their use.

Since then, the city has turned to ride-hailing companies to patch city budget gaps. Currently, the city charges such companies $2.00 per ride to operate in Portland, using that fee to help pay for the city’s transportation budget. According to Uber, that’s the highest flat-rate ride-hailing fee in the country.

What’s next?

The draft cost-sharing proposal for Uber and Lyft is expected to head to a council committee vote next month. It’s unlikely to come before the full council until the summer, after the city adopts its annual budget.

City councilors plan to advocate for drivers during the budget process. Pirtle-Guiney said she intends to introduce a plan to fund a “driver resource center” where people who work for the ride-hailing companies can learn about their labor rights and access legal aid.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/07/uber-lyft-portland-proposal-change-ride-share-hailing-services/