The Flex Association announced on its website that a new report has found Seattle’s 2024 delivery pay ordinance has negatively impacted local businesses, app-based workers, and consumers. The report indicates that the ordinance has led to lower revenue, fewer orders, and reduced earnings.
According to the Flex Association’s report, the rise of app-based delivery and rideshare platforms has enabled consumers to access transportation and meals more conveniently, empowered workers with schedule flexibility, and driven revenue to local businesses. The report argues that these platforms have become integral to urban ecosystems because of their tri-party benefits—businesses, consumers, and workers. However, it contends that certain regulatory interventions, like Seattle’s ordinance, disrupt that balance and introduce unintended distortions.
In the first 13 weeks after Seattle’s ordinance went into effect, sales by local businesses dropped by $17.6 million. The report attributes this decline to increased delivery costs and reduced consumer demand, which hurt restaurants and retailers relying on app-based delivery orders. It frames this revenue loss as evidence that rigid pay mandates can suppress economic activity in local markets.
The same report states that total app-based delivery orders fell by 25% in Seattle over the first 13 weeks post-ordinance while driver earnings per hour (for time spent logged into the app) dropped by 28% on average. The document explains that although the ordinance required a minimum per-mile, per-minute, and per-offer pay totaling $26.40, this fixed minimum exceeded the market equilibrium and discouraged order volume. This distortion in supply and demand caused fewer opportunities for drivers and fewer purchases by consumers.
According to Flex Association’s official “About” page, the organization serves as a coalition of major rideshare and delivery platforms advocating for policies that preserve flexible earning opportunities, consumer choice, and innovation in the gig economy. The association engages in policy analysis, research, and stakeholder education to influence local, state, and federal legislation. It positions itself as a voice for balanced regulation of app-based work, seeking to avoid overregulation that could harm all parties in the ecosystem.
