Five months before HICH's official August launch, Sahan Journal reporter Alfonzo Galvan was already covering the scramble to sign up Minneapolis drivers. The piece ran on March 29, 2024 — as Uber and Lyft threatened to exit the Twin Cities by May 1 over the city's minimum pay ordinance requiring $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute for rideshare drivers.
Key Facts from the Article
The article documented HICH setting up a Minnesota website and establishing its Bloomington office, with Sheikh presenting HICH's flat-fee model directly to the driver community. Rather than taking a percentage of fares, HICH would charge drivers $200 per month or $9.99 per day — and let them keep everything passengers paid.
The article captured the moment when Minneapolis drivers — largely Somali and East African workers who had built careers on Uber and Lyft — began seriously evaluating alternatives. HICH was one of the companies they were looking at.
"We're a startup here. We saw these drivers that are unhappy and the only thing that they're missing is the technology — we have the technology."
Mustafa Sheikh, Founder, HICH — as quoted in Sahan JournalThis is a summary. The full article — including additional context and reporting — is available on Sahan Journal's website.
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