My Lyft Experience After a Year

So MUCH to say (write) as I review my time driving for Lyft (almost exclusively) since right before Thanksgiving, 2021.

But let me first acknowledge that I’ll always be grateful, regardless, because I realize I GET TO DO THIS!  Not everyone has that perspective about what they do for income.

My primary issue with how Uber and Lyft operate has always been their continued chipping away at driver earnings, while also charging riders more.  Neither company compensates its drivers fairly, and NOW, these current “upfront fares” nonsense implemented in the past year with Uber, and the past month with Lyft, are straight out theft, in my opinion (and felt by thousands of drivers).

I REALLY want to stop driving now, but until I find a suitable replacement, I will continue to drive while also documenting publicly what I know to be true, and believe the general public ought to know.

I concluded years ago that as a driver, there are only 2 choices.  Drive or Quit.  Any, all and everything else is simply complaining, commiserating, crying, cussing, and venting against the wind, while accomplishing nothing to change the fares for the better for drivers OR riders.

When I started this site in April, 2017, it was to promote a new rideshare.  That mission hasn’t changed all these years later.  What I wrote years ago was an effort to show the discrepancies and disparities that existed and to highlight a better way with something new.  That purpose still hasn’t changed  either.

So let me summarize my time driving for Lyft and show you how BAD it has really gotten.

I reluctantly applied in April 2021, only because my sister and I would get a 4 figure bonus when I completed X number of rides in 30 days of signing up.  You would think that the same background check company that does their investigations for both Uber and Lyft would see that I’d been driving for Uber since June 2016, and issue my approval to drive for Lyft in a reasonable timeframe.

It was sometime in August when I finally got notice that I could drive.  WHAT?!  All the previous inquiries provided no answers or resolutions, and NOW, 4 months later, I am ‘worthy’ to drive for Lyft?!  And, of course, there was no bonus paid since I didn’t (and couldn’t) complete X number of rides in the first 30 days.  Because I was livid, I continued to resist turning on the app until the week before Thanksgiving.

Initially, I was loving driving for Lyft over Uber because: 1) I live in an area when the map usually showed a $2-$4+ bonus for every ride, and 2) Lyft was offering 3 ride streak bonus for $9, $12, $15 or $18.  In the early months, driving for dollars was easier compared to what has happened in the past month with Lyft.

Back in September, 2017, Uber announced Upfront Pricing for riders.  This meant that a rider’s fare would be based on an estimated time and distance, which also meant it was no longer tied to what drivers would be paid!

Since that time, drivers have been paid based on minutes and miles, and it varied amongst drivers, and areas of the country.

Earlier in 2022, Uber announced Upfront Fares for drivers.  I knew instinctively, and from all the online chatter and screenshots, that Uber was showing a flat fare with the time and distance to pickup, as well as the actual trip’s time and distance.  All are estimates. Which means, the amount shown is typically not accurate based on the actual time and mileage driven, nor is there any way to adjust the fare that was offered and accepted!

The following video is about Upfront Fares for drivers in California.  Know that it’s worse in other parts of the country.