Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
It’s been two years since Seattle’s gig worker minimum wage took effect. It was intended to boost labor standards for app-based drivers who deliver food for companies like DoorDash or Uber Eats.
How has it worked out so far?
How does that compare to what he would’ve earned before the new law?
Lowe estimated he would’ve been paid about $17. The ordinance isn’t just about wages. It required companies to pay mileage and time spent waiting either for the food, or in this case, sitting in traffic. The law also outlined protections before a driver can be fired or in the industry lingo, deactivated.
The thing is, that pay raise lasted a few months.
A few months… and then what?
Things slowed down. Orders weren’t coming in; they still aren’t coming in like they used to. One worker told me she can be logged on for hours without receiving an order. Customers still want the convenience, but many balked at the fees that the apps tacked on after the new law. The companies say the fees are necessary.
That pattern is consistent with a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research —wages were higher in the first few months and then dropped. The study also found that months later, drivers have more unpaid idle time, and drive longer distances between orders.
And how about local businesses, how has the law affected them?
I checked back with Uttam Mukherjee, co-owner of Spice Waala, that serves Indian street food on Capitol Hill, Columbia City, and Ballard. Mukherjee has expressed concerns early on. Those concerns he says have become real — he’s getting fewer orders coming through those apps because of the added fees that customers are now paying.
“A meal might be $12 or $15 in our restaurant," Uttam Mukherjee told me. “By the time a customer gets it through these apps, it becomes $35, $40 so I wouldn’t buy our own food for that price. Why should we expect customers to do that?”
Rideshare Rodeo Brand & Podcast:
https://linktr.ee/RideshareRodeo
#doordash #ubereats #fooddelivery #seattle #payuplawFAIL
It’s been two years since Seattle’s gig worker minimum wage took effect. It was intended to boost labor standards for app-based drivers who deliver food for companies like DoorDash or Uber Eats.
How has it worked out so far?
How does that compare to what he would’ve earned before the new law?
Lowe estimated he would’ve been paid about $17. The ordinance isn’t just about wages. It required companies to pay mileage and time spent waiting either for the food, or in this case, sitting in traffic. The law also outlined protections before a driver can be fired or in the industry lingo, deactivated.
The thing is, that pay raise lasted a few months.
A few months… and then what?
Things slowed down. Orders weren’t coming in; they still aren’t coming in like they used to. One worker told me she can be logged on for hours without receiving an order. Customers still want the convenience, but many balked at the fees that the apps tacked on after the new law. The companies say the fees are necessary.
That pattern is consistent with a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research —wages were higher in the first few months and then dropped. The study also found that months later, drivers have more unpaid idle time, and drive longer distances between orders.
And how about local businesses, how has the law affected them?
I checked back with Uttam Mukherjee, co-owner of Spice Waala, that serves Indian street food on Capitol Hill, Columbia City, and Ballard. Mukherjee has expressed concerns early on. Those concerns he says have become real — he’s getting fewer orders coming through those apps because of the added fees that customers are now paying.
“A meal might be $12 or $15 in our restaurant," Uttam Mukherjee told me. “By the time a customer gets it through these apps, it becomes $35, $40 so I wouldn’t buy our own food for that price. Why should we expect customers to do that?”
Rideshare Rodeo Brand & Podcast:
https://linktr.ee/RideshareRodeo
#doordash #ubereats #fooddelivery #seattle #payuplawFAIL
