driver (independent contractor)

driver

software engineer

senior software engineer

data scientist

Lyft Drivers

While I do appreciate having this as an option for income until I figure out my next move I do want to pass along a few insights to anyone considering this as a career.

Drive at your own risk.
If you decide you want to make this your full time gig, understand you are basically out  there on your own.
Lyft support is hard to get a hold of and they take a day to respond.
If you have an issue with the app they are not going to help you.
You’ll get a generic response to any issue you try to bring up.

I’ve had issues several times with the app crashing and after it crashing so many times I receive an automated text message saying “You’re closing the app to avoid getting ride requests. If it’s not a good time to drive just go offline. Closing the app to avoid requests hurts your acceptance rate.”

So of course I was upset seeing this message when I know good and well I’m trying to earn money and it’s the company app that keeps crashing and is hurting MY acceptance rate and MY time and MY money.
When I reached out I got a generic response telling me to try resetting my device or delete the app and try to download it again.
Really? 
Like I couldn’t have thought of that myself?
So I think that’s really messed up that my money was affected negatively due to their app being glitchy.
And let me just say it glitches about half the time.
Seriously read what I’m saying and consider how frustrated you might be if you’re out there driving around wondering why you’re not getting requests and you find the app has been frozen for who knows how long.
You try shutting off your phone and restarting it and the app keeps freezing randomly.
You try deleting other stuff and updating your device but you keep getting messages condoning you for closing the app.
You try to be diligent about checking if it’s frozen cause now you’re paranoid.
Because you keep checking, the app keeps closing ON ITS OWN and then you get a message saying “we know you’re closing the app to avoid getting rides”.
Seriously consider how frustrated you might be.
I’m a patient person but I really find that wrong that I’m punished for the app freezing and I’m losing money.

The other thing is people. 
Some are great and others are inconsiderate.
You’re letting people in your space and you’re hoping they are respectful.
Most people are fine and won’t give you a problem  but some aren’t so great and the ones that aren’t will really make you reconsider this job.
I can’t blame lyft for people being people but with the lyft support team being so non existent it’s harder to overlook this aspect and feel valued as a driver.
People will take a long time to leave your vehicle, they’ll put their feet up on your seats, some people have bad body odor.
I’d say this is a small percentage but just know you WILL encounter these people even if you don’t drive on drunk club nights.
Drunk club nights can be chaotic to say the least.
Make sure you are prepared to keep a good attitude but pay close attention to people.
They’ll try to touch your arm or your leg.
Drunk fights where people are yelling out of your window to their friends on the road.
People block your view with their blinding cellphone lights as they take selfies.
(Why is drunk lyft selfie taking such a thing?)
They’ll ask if you can stop to get them food and the drive through line is a mile long.
You’re scared to say no because then they won’t tip or they give you a bad review.
They won’t want to buckle up.
Some will try to open alcoholic beverages in your car.
Again you’re afraid to say no because you want a positive response from them.
If you provide mints and water people will just stock up on all of it and leave no tip.
Again this is a smaller percentage but you WILL encounter these people.
And lyft is going to do everything they can to avoid liability if anything happens to your car.
YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.

You are not going to just earn 20$ an hour YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT.
If you’re not socializing with your passengers and making an effort, you’re not going to get tips.
If you’re not getting tips then you’re not making 20$ an hour.
You’ll make more like 9-12$.

Lyft does promotions to encourage drivers to earn during busy times.
I’m very disappointed that they cut back on those.
It used to be get 3 rides in a row and you get 15$ bonus from lyft during set bonus hours.
Now it’s get 5 rides in a row and you get 10$ bonus.
Ok?
So you now have to take on more rides than before and the bonus is 5$ less.
So that’s literally doing more work and getting paid less.
It really makes you feel like you and your personal vehicle are just slaves to lyft.
I mean lyft really isn’t losing any money by employing you.
You’re the one at risk here.
They don’t pay hourly.
You’re driving your own car.
They take a big cut from your earnings.
They claim they’ll cover damages but they won’t.
The coverage is the bare minimum and they’ll tell you to take it up with your insurance provider.

I think new drivers will be somewhat shocked after dropping off their first passenger and then seeing the earnings say $3.79.
You’re going to have an “oh wow” moment followed by a “is that really all that trip earned me?”
So yeah. It’s work. It’s not just an easy job by any means.
It’s hard work.

Also consider you will need to change your tires more frequently.
You can end up getting a flat on the road at any time.
You’ll need to be extra kind to your car.
Try to look out for bumps in the road.
Potholes happen.
Riders scratching up your paint happens.
And if you didn’t catch it before LYFT IS NOT GOING TO HELP YOU IN ANY OF THESE CASES.

Now that I’ve gotten the negatives out of the way I will say it is absolutely fine to not have a boss or a schedule.
Even with this job being as much of a rip off as it is if you’re full time, I still find it worth it to be able to be independent.
So really it’s a fair trade if that’s something that matters to you.
That’s what I like most about this job is not having to answer to anyone and I work when I want.
That’s the reason I’m doing it.
You also get fuel rewards. I find I’m usually saving about 20-30 cents a gallon when I fill up.
That’s really nice and motivating.
You will enjoy many of your passengers.
I’ve met a lot of cool people in my experience driving.


So bottom line-
Part time job? YES!!! Yes absolutely 100% you should definitely do this because it will really help you build up your savings.
Your car isn’t going to get beat up if it’s just a few hours a week and you’ll avoid putting lots of miles on it.
If you already have a steady job and you just want some more money on the side THIS JOB IS THE PERFECT FIT.
If it’s just a small side gig for you then it won’t really matter much if you encounter a slow day.
You’ll still be making more money than you would have if you didn’t drive.
Lyft originally intended for this to just be supplemental income for people and I can definitely see why.
This is a good job to have for just doing a few hours here and there.
Or maybe driving on a club night and earning 100$ in 2 or 3 hours.

Full time job? Absolutely NOT.
NO WAY NOT WORTH IT AT ALL.
With all the miles and damage to your car and the maintenance fees just NO.
Too much risk, too much stress.
You’re sitting all day and your body will start to really hurt.
Sometimes you’re going to have a slow day.
You can’t always rely on hitting the bonuses they lay out for you- sometimes people just aren’t requesting when lyft predicts they will.

Sorry if I was too harsh but the nonexistent lyft support and decrease in bonus payouts makes it impossible to overlook the negatives.

I will continue to ride share after I find a real job and I’m sure I’ll be much happier.
Just don’t do this as a full time job, that’s all.
You’ll hate your life.
It’s miserable being in your car for hours on end praying the app won’t crash and that you’ll actually hit the bonuses.

If you can maintain your own hours thru self discipline and persevere thru difficult, unruly, dangerous, rude, messy, and sick customers, if you’re good at talking to people, if you love driving, if you have a NEW car of your own that you’re ok trading in every year or two so that the scare tactic of big maintenance repairs (usually 75-100k miles if you maintain recommended service schedule so you don’t really have much to worry about in even one year of hard driving) doesn’t drive you to rent thru their partner company, then it’s a more than miserable but less than great gig. Ok. One more caveat, as long as you are in a market with good steady business, maintain a good rating, maintain preferred status, and live close enough to hubs or high paying areas to hit bonuses from a convenience distance from home or don’t mind being out for a full 12 hours a day. The pay is not good unless you hit those bonuses or are in a market that they have to guarantee you a good wage per hour and then get enough booked hours to make that work. Fully half or more of my income on good days is made up of bonuses and tips. I can make, average 85$ per day working part time hours in my market. The highest I’ve made in one day is 185$ and one month almost 1900$, but I rent the vehicle and don’t pull full time hours. More than half of my earnings go to the rental, which is ONLY paid by my earnings as I earn them. I can’t pay it off early with other funds. Remember this income is not taxed and your access to rides is severely limited by how much Lyft likes you. I had a 5 star rating on 700+ rides until someone, no idea who but I have an idea which ride, rated me one star and ever since then, it’s been nothing but problems. I’ve had customers cussing me out and using slurs to try and rile me up, intentionally damaging the car, threatening me, following me in a friend’s car after I cancel the ride for the above behavior, etc. Lyft had a glitch on payouts just last week for me which resulted in a frustrating five hour conversation with support being told that my earnings weren’t mine but were being tacked onto my rental charges for the week - which is not possible, because I had already paid the rental and that’s not how it works, the details not need to go here but it’s almost impossible to get any help from support without an enormous effort and a lot of wasted time as they will not send you to someone who knows what you’re talking about until absolutely necessary and they waste your time and ignore your messages and emails in an effort to make you give up so they don’t have to deal with it. I’ve had an escalation open since the first week of September and every time I have gotten the promised emails, they never follow up on my reply, or it gets bounced back undeliverable or invalid email address - it’s ludicrous that any company is allowed to operate in such a blatantly deceptive and unfair manner. It ticks almost all the boxes for UDAAP, but so far the ftc and bbb have only made them get more crafty and add more details to confuse and take advantage of both drivers and riders. For instance - early in my gig life here, due to a busy event and confusion from both of us, I had a ride that cost the Customer a whopping 177$. Lyft allowed me to keep 44$ of that ticket. Yesterday I had a passenger tell me she paid 19$ for her trip and it was initially 30$ if she had kept her earlier pickup time - I received less than 5$ of this 10-mile fare, and the best part is, because of the outrageous price of the ride, the riders think you get more and/or they can’t budget to make the bill higher - so they don’t tip. I take a lot of rides in low income neighborhoods, trips to the DES and to parole appointments and to emergency departments or urgent care clinics. I pick up disabled vets and homeless individuals and people getting treated at the methadone clinic or other rehabs who don’t arrange the rides, it’s through a medical taxi company that contracts with Lyft. I get no information prior to suddenly being tasked with taking apart a ride-on scooter and hoping it will fit in my compact rental, or having to assist someone with limited mobility, which I’m not trained for. I have no medical experience or certification, these rides should not be contracted out! On the pay side, they’re usually very low fares and I get no tips or bonuses on these rides. My market has a minimum rate, but guess how many rides I have to decline in a week when they’re shoved at me for 2-3$ and I have to stop and clean my car after every other trip? Meanwhile, if they put out a bonus area, they give you rides that look like they COULD be in the area, for an extra 2-8$ PER RIDE on top of the fare - but they’re not, and you don’t find out until after, when you don’t get the bonus. They also, at the beginning of the bonus hour, will give you a ride that will take most of an hour to complete, that way if you do miraculously manage to get the bonus unlocked, you only get one instance of it and chances are because of the bonus hour, the fare will be lower and it will be a long drive. Icing on the f-u cake? Renting the car means for some reason I make less than someone using their own car to begin with. Supposedly this is because of the insurance and fees etc - but half of passenger payments are held back for “estimated commercial insurance and other fees” which is usually insurance only, sometimes ten bucks tax - so how, I have to ask, does that make sense that I make less to begin with AND they still keep half of the exorbitant fare for the same reason, then take their own fee - or add to it if the insurance is too highly estimated for it - to ensure I ONLY make 70% of passenger payments, even though they later add on my tip and bonus amounts to the pre-fee amount to make it appear that I make 100%+. They say I keep 100% of my tips and bonuses, but every cent I make every week goes to the rental first. Technically that’s because even the rental payment is income - if it was going to be fairly income, though, those funds would touch my account first. Therefore it’s not, in my humble opinion. They intentionally over explain and arbitrarily reduce or increase amounts of charges and payments to make it near impossible to figure out what you’re being paid and where the f it’s all actually going, and my payouts also never truly match up to what Lyft says I earned. So I conclusion, I repeat : DO NOT RENT THEIR VEHICLES to drive, DO NOT DO THIS FULL TIME, and DO NOT EXPECT ANYBODY to help or advocate for you. Keep track of your expenses, your payments, your payOUTS, your miles, your hours, booked and online both, keep track of the fees and the costs because these are all going to be real important come tax time too, because you will not make a profit. I repeat : unless you are extremely lucky or you’re God, you will not make a profit when all is said and done. If you just need a car to get around or to work, get a beater and make friends with a backyard mechanic because it will be less expensive in the short AND long run.

The week (end of July 2019), before I quit (using Express Drive) after working for 5 years, full-time for Lyft, I actually lost $100.00 working 30 hours in Phoenix Arizona.  After working for 30 hours, to pay the $260.00 rental cost, I still own 39 cents that they took out of my checking account, after I spent over $100.00 in gas working for free like a slave, or actually worse as slaves did not pay their owners to work for them, and they at least were given free room and board.  This was the same week as Lyft (unbeknownst to the drivers) added an option in their app in 4, Phoenix Arizona cities to have Waymo (automated driver car with a driver supervising the driving) to actually compete with all of the human drivers in the area (which is what is obviously coming).  Lyft saturates the areas with no limit to drivers, making it harder for full-time drivers to compete.  They overcharge on the Hertz car rentals, and dropped the driver's income rate from .52 cents a mile, to .48 cents a mile because of "higher insurance costs", since Hertz just can't make enough money charging more than one thousand dollars a month for the car, which is less than they charge their regular customers.  If gas prices go up, the driver is stuck with the higher cost of gas, which they pay at least $100.00 a week to keep running.  Lots of price gouging.  The last straw was when my rental malfunctioned (the engine light kept coming on and car starting running very rough, which will get drivers low ratings from customers and therefore, get fired.  Lyft shows no preference for  top rated (4.98 out of 5 rating) veteran drivers like myself either.  I was able to get the car home (and didn't try to find a gas station since you are normally supposed to return the car with full gas, as I was concerned about getting home in 111 degree temperatures and was afraid of breaking down somewhere.)  They came out and towed the vehicle.  They (Hertz) then called me 4 times in 2 days with questions, and then basically said there was nothing wrong with the car, therefore calling this loyal Lyft driver a liar.  I told them the mechanic is wrong, and the poor next sucker that drives it may break down on the side of the road in 112 degree temperatures, putting the driver and passenger in danger.  They did not care. So if this happens to you, take video and pictures of the car engine  light on (or whatever problem is happening) so they can't call you a liar and then charge you 4 or 5 days (at $37.00 per day when I only used the car for one day and 2 hours before it malfunctioned) then also charge you $50.00 for 1/2 tank of gas, then ripping me off even more by charging me another $55.00, by automatically stealing if from my checking account and causing me problems not paying my rent even.  The job is only good if you work part-time, for part-time money, or else you will destroy your own car and lose money on the value.  (lost my first car after putting 60,000 miles on it in one year, losing $8,0000 value on the 2-year old car and had trouble selling it).  And this does not include drunks throwing up in your car, or spilling hidden alcoholic drinks in your car that Lyft won't reimburse, as they did to me this year.  I'm not sure if Lyft is trying to show the shareholders that and are supposedly making a profit, by screwing their drivers over, or what, since they went public and folks can buy stocks (not this 5-year veteran as they are losing their business, respect and reputation due to obvious greed).  Do not work for Lyft or Uber (believe me, Uber is not much better as I drove 1 and 1/2 years with them also.)
They appear to rely on new drivers, ignorant of what they are getting in to, as they just want a nice car to drive (but have to work 30 to 50 hours to pay/rent it).  The new, inexperienced driver tries it for a week, sees that they are getting ripped of, then returns it, and another sucker steps up for another week to fill the gap.  I hope this helps you.  It used to be a pretty good company in my opinion but the greed has destroyed it like many companies and many more will in the future when automation will wipe out at least 20 million jobs within the next 10 years.  Hopes this helps the desperate and the poor, like myself so that they won't get taken advantage of.  Even worse, I can't apply for Unemployment now, and have no income.  You may see me on the street with a sign begging soon, as an ex-Lyft driver.

Worked as a driver (Full-time) for Lyft and Uber for 6 months My goal each week was to make at least $100/day in the Columbia, SC area, preferably Monday through Saturday.  In a month, my goal was to bring in about $2,400.  My bills at the time we’re about even with what I was bringing in (including gas and maintenance).  Prayerfully, the following information will be encouraging to anyone who might be considering doing ride share or someone already doing it.  

Pros:
-Glory to God, I earned enough to pay my bills on time every month.
-Flexible hours 
-Easy job duties 
-It’s your car...you can refuse to pick up a rider, although the company may tell you otherwise.
-Flexibility allowed for me to search and interview for other jobs.
-Income allowed me to decline jobs while still earning income and searching for that dream job.
-Rating system.  Could be a useful tool if the company used it correctly.
-Customers.  Most of the customers I picked up were friendly and respectful.
-The human nature of it all.  Getting to see how people live-the businesses they frequent, their jobs, homes, friends, families, their personalities, etc.  
-Whether you’re quiet or talkative, you’ll probably have at least one customer that you end up having a great relationship with (though, it might be weird if you try to set up any outings with them)

Cons:
-I worked unconventional hours.
-Some of the riders were rude but they were far and few.
-Time-consuming.  Some days I was ready to trade in the benefit of flexibility for the benefit of having any job with an off time (9am-5pm).
-Pay was considerably less than it should be. Driving 30 mins to pick up a passenger but only getting paid for the 2 minute drive to take them to the corner store and then back home.
-Rating system.  You have to have tough skin because you can think you’re offering A class service and one of your passengers may give you a horrible rating. (didn’t happen too often)
-Navigation provided by company would take me in the wrong direction or tell me to pick up a customer from the wrong location.
-Out of control customers whether it be related to drinking, personality flaw, etc.
(The driver’s car is not your car no matter how comfortable you feel it in)
-Unpredictability in daily earnings.  You can set a daily goal but that doesn’t mean you will come close to it.  Some weeks, I made more than $100/day.  Some weeks, I had to work morning and night just to earn $50/day which meant I had to work longer hours the next day to make up the difference.
-Lifting people’s luggage.  I skipped this task after trying a couple times and realizing how unsafe this task is for the driver.  For safety reasons, the driver shouldn’t have to get out of the car and the company doesn’t offer health benefits so the driver shouldn’t have to put themselves at risk of getting injured lifting someone’s heavy bag that they (the customer) can’t even lift. (Maybe, pay drivers more who are willing to lift bags, etc)
-no health or retirement benefits 
-Lyft’s fees
-wear and tear on your vehicle.  

Even with all the cons, I still consider my days of driving with Lyft and Uber to be a blessing.  I’m so grateful to God that I was able to earn income while I was in between jobs! I don’t consider this a good permanent because it can be taxing mentally and everyone deserves to get paid fairly and this job while it offers you access to an income it’s not a fair wage.  It’s kind of like a payday loan, it’s helpful at the time but in the long run you’ve probably put more into it than you received.

Lyft is my first APP based job.  I like the flexibility and the APP is well designed and they are making ongoing improvements based on user feedback.  What you need to know, the cost involved with driving full time do not earn enough to cover rent/car payment.  Your gas factor is huge investment.  I have found that for every $100, take off $40-52 for daily gas used.  Gas prices jumped .70 cents in one week.  So your daily pay drops significantly.  In my area Toll fees are another crusher, the app provides a preferred route, I am not always in a familiar area to avoid the tolls and use the preferred Route, resulting in weekly tolls averaging $48.  Yes you are reimbursed but this is still part of the $100 equation, and you are responsible for paying your toll account.  so now your $100 less gas and tolls for the day result in $36 net for the day.  So if you stopped for lunch there goes another $20.  I have given over 900 rides to give this a genuine test run to see if I could pay my main bills.  The answer is no.  So yes great for supplement if your in a busy area, events you can make extra money. 
You should look at its as supplemental income and maintain a foundational base for monthly income needs. 
As far as direct contact with Lyft on any level, there's not much interaction.  If you have an issue the key is to contact support at the moment, there are times when calling the line is too busy, keep calling until you reach live person, its is imperative to resolve any issue at the time it occurs in order for the Agents to support your claim/request.  Take screen shots of any issue to support your claim and report issue, this is the best way to get issue resolved, as there is no other way for support to see your problem first hand.  If you have an issues with a passenger call with the passenger in your presence to resolve it then and there.  Again take pictures to prove you point/ position. 
There is a misconception that you can just stay in your area, this is not true you go where the app and the passenger sends you.  This may not be ideal for many who want to just stay in there neighborhood/area. be ready to go anywhere and be gone for hours in areas you never been before, for some this is a perk for others a deal breaker.  You need to be able to sit for hours, if you have back issues or circulation issues check with your doctor.  It will catch up to you. Once the app gets me on a rhythm I can be sitting for 6-8 hours with out getting out of the car.  You are in control of your car space, command control, with groups ask for the primary account holder to identify themselves.  If the primary is not in the car, state upfront if the primary cancels the ride, the ride is over at that moment and everyone will be asked to leave the vehicle.  Many people share accounts, so you may be looking for a female and it ends being her son.  Make sure to ask them what the account holders name is and confirm the destination address. If they want to add a stop tell them they must do it from their app, by clicking edit add stop. If the address set up is incorrect pull over and update on their phone the proper sequence of drop offs.  This job is not for everyone, you need to be able to multi task safety and be street smart.  There are plenty of other APP based jobs out there, such as door dash.  Good luck be safe out there....

I loved working for myself and adored my customers!

Lyft as a company was popular since it wasn't uber now they're copying them in every way i.e not giving a f*ck about you as a driver, car or human being.

If you get in an accident (crashed into) their "million dollar coverage"
only applies if:
-You're in the accident with the passenger in the car (happened to me awkward af) not online, not in-route to them but with...
(assuming that's the case)
-Now you report it and they deactivate your account immediately! (i.e. fired with a crashed car)
-Guess what? To be covered by their insurance you need to pay a $2,500 out of pocket copay YOU DO!
-The help line said talk to the insurance adjuster to have your account reactivated, I did.
-The insurance adjuster said; "yeah we don't do that at all they keep telling people we do but we have absolutely no ability to do that"
-They assessed based on the photos I sent that it was less than $2,500 to repair from the pictures but then said I need to send 4 more 
(they want to see if my car looked good enough for their standards to reactivate my account) I.e. magically come up with the money after they fire you to fix your own car that wouldn't have been in an accident in the 1st place had you not been working for them.

24/7 help line? you have to sort through about 6 pages of certain options to even be allowed to call them, otherwise you can send an email and they'll regurgitate the same article on the website back to you 3 days later.
-If you ask for a supervisor you get put on hold indefinitely.
-They pay people in offices 24/7 the money you earn for them on office space, employee hourly salary (must be nice) and upkeep of all of that! to essentially tell you to go f*ck yourself! Glad the bonuses keep getting cut along with your pay rate (literally every 3 months) all to pay the salary of the people designed to waist your time and income 

-when I started it was a dream job, now they chipped away so much you're dreaming if you think this is anything but a terrible terrible idea

Seriously, Lyft from the bottom of my heart, I hope you guys lose every lawsuit against you, I hope all of your financial information and inside info you insist on hiding gets posted on every news site and blog, I'd be happy to help with that ;) 

but ideally you'd quit shooting yourself in the foot and competing to be the very thing you set out not to be i.e uber It's literally free f*ing money on your end here's a thought downsize your staff! go back to the start and quit trying to f*ck over your only source of income your drivers

and by the by, making self driving cars? Really? That's like if mcdonald's started feeding their cheese burgers to the cows they intend to slaughter in order to make more cheese burgers
 (also that's how mad cow disease started it was bad news all around)
but the cow doesn't have expenses, rent, taxes, an empty fridge and a wrecked car and a late insurance payment but at least the cow gets to be put down humanely, ironic really.

Long story short idk how you guys f*cked this up so badly and managed to take hertz down with you hahahaha

I have been driving for Lyft for several months. Last week, they had a promotion where you get a $50 bonus for giving a certain number of rides, and I was one ride short according to their app. However, I recalled that I had completed a ride last week that I did not get credit for, due to my new phone's touchscreen becoming completely unresponsive all of a sudden, in the middle of a ride (I tried rebooting it several times, but nothing changed). THus I was not able to tap "drop off" after dropping off the rider, and their system did not count it as a completed ride. I reported this immediately after it happened, and I was given a "bonus" to compensate for the amount I would have been paid for the ride, but it did not change the fact that the ride was not counted as being a completed ride - even though it was completed in every way - and did not count towards my ride total for the week, which left me one ride short of the $50 bonus. So I contacted their driver support on the Lyft driver app to chat with "Lyft Support", and time after time they ended and shut down the chat prematurely, before I had a chance to respond, or before the issue was resolved - causing me to have to try to bring up the "support" chat again, which takes an inordinate amount of taps and is not easy to reach, in the app. One time the "support" person ended the chat after a few minutes, during which I was attempting to type a response. Then later on, they just ended the chat without even responding, after seeing that I was unhappy both with their refusal to honor the ride as having been completed and also unhappy with how I was being treated by them. They also tried to frame the issue to make it more favorable to their point of view, and to make it seem like I was being unreasonable and had no case. They tried to say that I ended or canceled the ride, which I did not do. They tried to say that the rider canceled the ride, which he did not do. They tried to say that the ride was not given or completed, which it obviously was (why else would I have been compensated for it, after the issue happened and I reported it?). They could also easily contact the rider and ask him what happened and he could confirm that the ride was given and completed - I asked them to do this, but as usual, they gave no response. When you chat with any other "support" person in any normal company, they always ask you if your issue is resolved, they don't just close the chat. But with "Lyft Support", they first try to catch you unable to respond immediately and then take the opportunity to close the chat, then if that doesn't work, they'll give some response framing the matter in a favorable light from their point of view and then close the chat before you have a chance to respond... or eventually, at some point, if you keep trying to [go through the long process required to] contact them, they'll just stop responding entirely, and close the chat (with a message of "this issue has been resolved") without any discussion whatsoever.

I have now deleted my driver account.

The best thing about driving for Lyft is the (current) ability to work when you want to. It's nice to meet people from all walks of life but one can do that just about anywhere. The negatives are many and expensive so you really need to consider everything before you think this is a dream job!
- major mileage will be added to your car! As in tens of thousands of miles. Whether part-time or full-time, be prepared.
- all those miles will depreciate your car's value.
- wear and tear will also depreciate your car's value! 
- repairs/ maintenance will be unavoidable! Tires (I replace mine yearly.), oil changes (every other month at 10,000 miles), wiper blades, car washes and interior cleanings, keeping it clean and sanitary is never-ending if you care about your personal car and the complete strangers in it.
- you MUST have rideshare insurance! It will cost a bit more. Not all insurance companies allow you to drive for rideshares so check yours!
- your car must be legal and be inspected annually for safety.
- you NEED and MUST follow all Lyft requirements, Federal and State Laws. This includes EVERYONE must wear seatbelts, you cannot pick up minors w/o an adult, no babies/toddlers if no carseat, no alcohol, smoking or vaping, etc is allowed- plus more. If you aren't strong, or thick-skinned, enough to say NO, refuse a ride, or kick people out of your car, this isn't for you.
- a good portion of the money you earn will be put to use as gas money!
- be prepared that only about 20% of riders will tip you!! They are cheap and unappreciative.
- drivers really do NOT make good money unless Lyft has incentives and bonuses. Most of their challenges aren't even worth working towards- less than $1 per ride but you will need to do 20-25 rider per day, 7 days per week- driving 11-12 hours per day- to earn it. Is this worth it?
- are you a defensive driver? If not, don't even think about doing this.
- you cannot call Lyft with issues. Even when they say you can (as I am a Platinum driver and have been for 3+ years), you can't. It's all text.
- if there is a way for them to not pay you, they won't. Trust me.
- Lyft does not have your back as a driver, no matter how much they want to tell that story.
- if you do this full-time, as I have done, be aware around the holidays you will struggle to get enough rides as an influx of part-timers will join the ranks for extra money. Most times, there aren't enough ride requests to go around to keep you busy enough to earn money to pay your bills. Manage your money. Or learn how to!
- you need to keep track of expenses for your taxes. (Mileage, meals, phone mainly. You cannot do car maintenance AND mileage; most times, you will always want to report mileage for taxes).
- you are a 1099 employee, so no taxes are taken out. KNOW this for tax time! Put money aside in case you owe. Or set up and pay quarterly taxes.


lyft will deactivate you on a moment's notice & the notice you get letting you know your account is deactivated is ALWAYS CONDESCENDING and lays the blame at the DRIVERS feet! Whether it's a GPS issue.. (ALWAYS says it's  a spoofing problem)! They'll claim it's the phone you are using and SUGGEST you upgrade to a newer phone, (even though mine is an Android 7 & is supposed to be compatible with the app) or a customers review WITHOUT REQUESTING any info about the situation from the driver!!! The driver is ALWAYS guilty without benefit of both sides of the story... a customer was so drunk, he couldn't locate his own shoes in a one room loft apt he'd been "partying" at so got in my car without his shoes; he then turned me into the safety team alleging that I was driving under "the influence of an unknown substance", (definately untrue), so they deactivated me for several days without having any other input from myself or previous fares! There are also instances of unfair reviews by customers that are also taken at face value by Lyft without benefit of disputing what the customer claims... good example of this would be a customer who gave me a less than 3 rating because they had to "walk more than a mile to the pick up!" & I will admit they may have had to walk possibly a half mile in distance to reach me, however, what they didn't include in their review was that I was parked in the ASSIGNED TAXI/RIDE SHARE PICK UP zone that the IOWA STATE FAIR requires ALL rideshare companies use! The local police and fair officials are being very strict about this policy! We are provided one gate area to pick up and drop off our fares, and we as drivers are not given a choice in that decision making so how would that be my fault?? Yet I get dinged on my driver rating over a policy I cannot change or control? Unfair and unprofessional since they claim they cannot undo or delete that issue!! I call BS since a computer has override codes that could change/delete anything if only the department you are providing the complaint to was given that authority to do so by upper management!! And don't get me started on how far they send you to pick up a minimum fare.... they'll send you sometimes 20-25 minutes away just to pick up a less than 1 mile ROUND TRIP fare! Happened to me just this last week, I drove 18 miles to pick up a man who wanted to go "just down the street to grab cigs and then right back home"! That guy was in my car for a grand total of .9 of a mile!!!!!! Did not tip me for traveling that far, didn't really even say thank you either! And certainly didn't care that I would have to travel back also wasting MY GAS AND TIME waiting, hoping for a return fare so that I didn't LOSE more money ...  driving for Lyft is MOSTLY a losing proposition!

ONE star because YELP made me!!! I would give you guys a Double -0 rating.
So Ive been a LYFT EXPRESS DRIVER since OCTOBER 2018... The program seemed great at first, one they offer you a rental car with HERTZ you can use for making money and as personal. You do not have to worry about maintenance because the Pep Boys takes care of all of it!! Sounds Great Right! Not!!!! The rental is $289.66 every single Monday!!! That's not even real Hertz weekly rental prices.... Then they give you these Peak time rental reward ride requirements thats absolutely impossible to meet. You have to have a 20 ride requirement every week to continue driving the car. My problem is there are nooooo rides here in PITTSBURGH, PA!!! I was online for 4 hours and i didnt get not one ride. I dumped $50 worth of gas in my car which btw only takes $25 to fill the tank.. Not one ride.. I called lyft and explain there is no demand.. A Manager said and i Quote " There are more drivers on the road then there are Riders" How is that even possible!! Im a full time.driver i can barely meet the $289.66 every week because there is no rides!!! I cash out at the end of the week $50-$70 in my pocket because LYFT platform makes sure you can earn the cost of that rental.. But once friday- sunday hit its like they disable your account or something because no rides will come.. Your guaranteed a ride from the airport if you wanna wait 2 hours the portable bathrooms are disgusting... No one cleans them... But LYFT EXPRESS DRIVE makes it impossible to make money... I have 3 kids..and i have become more POOR driving for LYFT but because im a single mom who could never begin to afford a lease car and whos times needs to be flexible... I have no choice but to do this program im basically working every week 40 hours just for me to have $70 and im not over exaggerating in my pockets to last for a whole week on top of bills and my kids..and buying food... I have become poor my light bill is $300 now... Im eating and buying food from.family dollar i can barley afford stuff in Giant eagle now... This is horrible but i have no choice..and when i bring my concerns to The Lyft Hub over on Mc Knight Road...they laugh and say the prices for the rental per week is only going to Go Up!!!... Well you guys are smart LYFT and HERTZ you found a loophole in the system to get people to work for you For Free!!!! This is Foul to The people who trust and really this plateform.. You guys Pay us $4.12 to drive someone 18-20 mins... Thats not fair..gas prices are $2.60 per gallon...at least have a system where we can possible purchase this vehicle...im payinv $1000 per month on a car i will never own...this is Horrible and i feel everyone needs to read this review before considering driving for LYFY DRIVE EXPRESS IN PITTSBURGH, PA

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