John McVea, professor at the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, recently spoke with KSTP about negotiations between city officials and rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, as well as the complexities facing similar startups.
From the story:
So far, the City of Minneapolis says it’s received four applications for rideshare licenses, but it’s unknown where they are in the licensing process.
The city says it takes between two and six weeks to process those applications, depending on how complete they are.
The fee is $37,145, plus a wheelchair surcharge.
In St. Paul, the license is $41,115.
“Money can’t come out of thin air,” says John McVea, an economics professor at the University of St. Thomas.
McVea says the rideshare start-ups not only have to grapple with the driver pay issue.
He says launching a rideshare app can cost up to $200,000- and there’s more.
“The cost of developing revenue, the cost of insurance, the cost of data processing, mobile costs, and research and development,” he explains.
McVea believes in the end, Minneapolis city officials and Uber and Lyft will reach a deal for them to stay.
