Establish a $26.02 Minimum Earnings Floor for Rideshare Drivers in Texas
We are asking the Texas Legislature to establish a statewide minimum earnings floor of $26.02 per active hour for drivers working through Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), including Uber, Lyft, and other TNCs legally operating in Texas.

Rideshare drivers provide an essential transportation service throughout Texas while operating as independent contractors and carrying the costs associated with their vehicles, fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and other operating expenses.

Texas should establish a reasonable minimum earnings standard that protects drivers while preserving the independent-contractor model.

Massachusetts Has Already Established a Similar Standard
Massachusetts provides a real-world example of how a state can establish minimum earnings protections for rideshare drivers.

Following litigation brought by the Massachusetts Attorney General against Uber and Lyft, the parties reached a settlement in 2024 that established a minimum earnings floor for drivers.

The Massachusetts standard began at $32.50 per hour of engaged time and was increased to $34.48 per hour effective January 15, 2026, with future adjustments tied to inflation.

This Massachusetts settlement is not binding law in Texas. However, it provides a relevant and practical example of another state addressing substantially similar issues involving TNC drivers.

Texas can evaluate that experience and establish its own standard appropriate for Texas.

Our Proposed Texas Standard
We propose:

$26.02 per Active Hour
This amount should be established as the minimum earnings floor for covered TNC drivers during active time.

The purpose of this proposal is not to make Texas identical to Massachusetts.

Rather, it is to establish a reasonable Texas-specific minimum earnings standard while recognizing that rideshare drivers operate under the same basic economic model: they provide transportation through a digital platform while bearing significant operating costs themselves.

What Counts as Active Time?
For purposes of this proposed standard, active time should begin when a driver accepts a passenger trip and end when the passenger reaches the destination.

Active time should include:

Travel to the passenger's pickup location;
Waiting for the passenger at the designated pickup location;
Transporting the passenger to the destination.
Time spent logged into the platform while waiting for a trip request would not be included in the active-hour calculation.

Tips Must Remain Separate
Drivers should keep 100% of their tips.

Tips should not be used by a TNC to satisfy or reduce its obligation to meet the $26.02 minimum earnings floor.

Transparency for Texas Drivers
TNC drivers should receive clear information about each completed trip, including:

Total trip time;
Total mileage;
Driver earnings;
Amount paid by the passenger;
Active time used to calculate the earnings floor.
Massachusetts has already implemented comparable trip-level transparency requirements for Uber and Lyft drivers.

Texas already regulates TNCs through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), and a TNC permit allows a company to operate statewide.

Our Request
We respectfully ask the Texas Legislature to enact statewide legislation requiring Transportation Network Companies operating in Texas to guarantee drivers a minimum of:

$26.02 per active hour
This standard should apply statewide and should cover Uber, Lyft, and other qualifying TNCs operating under Texas law.

The proposed legislation should:

Establish a $26.02 minimum earnings floor for active time;
Apply statewide throughout Texas;
Cover qualifying Transportation Network Companies;
Preserve the independent-contractor model;
Exclude driver tips from the earnings-floor calculation;
Require TNCs to make up the difference when eligible earnings fall below the minimum;
Require transparent trip-level earnings information;
Establish a reasonable mechanism for future adjustment of the earnings floor.
Texas Should Establish Its Own Standard
Massachusetts has demonstrated that minimum earnings protections for rideshare drivers can be implemented through a state-level framework.

Texas has its own laws, economic conditions, and regulatory structure.

We are not asking Texas to copy Massachusetts.

We are asking Texas to learn from an existing state-level solution and establish its own fair standard for Texas rideshare drivers.

$26.02 per active hour.
A statewide minimum earnings floor for the drivers who keep Texas moving.