DoorDash raises fees in Seattle again, blaming City Council

Delivery app company DoorDash is once again raising fees in Seattle, as delivery apps, drivers, restaurants, and city leaders continue to debate the city's minimum pay ordinance.

"It was our sincere hope that these additional fees could be avoided, but the City Council's inability to reach a compromise that would reduce costs, even marginally, has left us with few options," DoorDash said in a statement this week. "As always, we will evaluate the effects of these fees and react or make any future changes as needed to continue operating a sustainable and growing business in Seattle."

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At the start of 2024, Seattle implemented a minimum pay standard for delivery apps and gig workers, with the aim of addressing Seattle's affordability woes. In response, app companies — including Uber Eats, Instacart, and Grubhub — added fees to Seattle deliveries to cover the rise in costs. DoorDash added a $4.99 fee (which it called a "regulatory response fee"), and has been at the forefront of pushing back against Seattle's ordinance, arguing that the city's small businesses are losing millions in sales.

The effects of Seattle's minimum pay ordinance varies, depending on who you ask. Small restaurant owners have said it has resulted in lost business. Some delivery workers have echoed that sentiment. Other delivery drivers have stated the opposite and have advocated to keep the ordinance in place, claiming that their pay and working conditions improved. The Seattle City Council has debated rolling back or modifying the minimum pay ordinance throughout the first half of 2024, but have yet to take any action.

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This week, DoorDash stated that it "continues to lose money in the market due to the minimum pay ordinance. To help promote affordability and minimize the impact on local businesses, we have held off on further increasing fees for the last six months while the Council debated a compromise bill to reduce costs of facilitating delivery. With a few members of the Council deciding they will not allow a compromise to move forward, we will have to make changes to remain operationally sustainable in Seattle."

Starting on Aug. 1 in Seattle, DoorDash will add:

• An additional $1.99 fee on long-distance orders. In its statement the company does not define "long-distance." DoorDash argues that this fee will "help to offset the costs of some of the most expensive deliveries under the minimum pay ordinance."
• Another $1.99 "minimum service fee" will be added to orders from DashPass subscribers.