6 Reasons Why I Don’t Love Lyft Anymore

No one has been a more ardent defender of Lyft than our very own senior RSG contributor Jay Cradeur. However, due to recent Lyft changes to rates and more, Jay is more than a little despondent. Below, 6 reasons why Jay doesn’t love Lyft anymore.

Oh Lyft, what happened? I was your guy. You were my company. You did everything right. You were not that big, bad and mean company called Uber. You were the driver-friendly, softer and gentler rideshare company. They were dark and you were pink. But not anymore.

In this article I will share why Lyft was king for me for so many years, and how poor decision after poor decision has left me scratching my head until I had to consider switching sides. Lyft, you broke my heart!

Why I Preferred Lyft For So Long

There are six reasons why I preferred Lyft:

  1. 80% vs 75% Commission – When I signed up in December 2015, Lyft was paying drivers 80% of the passenger’s fee. Uber was paying 75%. I missed the Uber deadline by a month. I contacted Uber and requested 80%, but they repeatedly declined my request. In a $2,000 week, that 5% difference is $100. Over a year, that is a $5,000 difference.
  2. No Corporate Shenanigans.  Uber was notorious just a few years ago for having a CEO who berated one of his own drivers.  The corporate culture was also rife with misogyny and misconduct.  While Uber self-destructed, Lyft kept a low profile and benefited from Uber’s negative press.
  3. Kept Prime Time.  Uber was fairly quick to remove their multiplier surge and move to the new flat rate surge.  This took away the unicorn, the opportunity to earn a huge commission on a long ride.  Before the change in surge, I was able to earn $170 on a one hour ride from San Francisco to Foster City.  Lyft kept the multiplier Prime Time while Uber offered us crumbs.
  4. Lyft Seemed Busier In San Francisco – If you are going to go for the big weekly bonuses, you really do need to pick one company to drive for. The bigger bonuses, which have the highest dollar per ride amounts, require well over 100 rides.  When I first started driving in San Francisco, Uber was the busier company.  But after about a year, in 2017, I noticed that Lyft was getting as busy if not even busier.  I feel this had to do with the troubles Uber was going through (See #2 above).
  5. 6 Destination Filters – Here again, Uber offered drivers six destination filters but quickly reverted back down to two.  Lyft, however, held strong with six.  As an aggressive driver with a top priority of high dollars per hour earnings, those destination filters were like gold.
  6. Kept a Strong Weekly Ride Challenge Bonus Active – Just last year, I was able to drive 165 rides and make a $500 bonus from Lyft.  Uber did have a sweet $500 bonus for 120 rides, but it was discontinued when Uber shifted to Quest bonuses.  This is what it looked like just last year when I was driving for Lyft.

Now, What Has Lyft Done For Me Lately?

  1. Still 80% – Well, this one is still true.  Lyft has not changed my commission.  However, they did follow Uber’s lead and lower the per-mile rate while increasing the per minute rates.  This strategy continues to erode a driver’s ability to earn a big commission on a long trip.  This change in policy rewards average driving.  And recently, our own Joe from RSG reported that he is showing a 10% decrease in earnings due to Lyft’s new cockamamie attempt to control driver’s behaviors by paying a severely reduced rate for the drive over to pick up your passenger.  Lyft told Joe that drivers wanted this.  Really Lyft, show me one driver who wants to consistently earn 10% less!
  2. Now fighting AB5.  We all know that AB5 has been signed and passed into law.  We all fully expected Uber to get down and dirty and fight this thing tooth and nail.  But Lyft is throwing down too.  Lyft is right there asserting that drivers are better off as Independent Contractors with absolutely no protections under that law relative to employees.  Employees earn 30% more than ICs, so AB5 is a good thing for drivers.  Lyft is saying “Screw You” to drivers, right alongside Uber.
  3. Prime Time Is Gone.  Now Lyft is offering up Personal Power Zones (PPZ) which, similar to Uber, removes the joy of securing a long ride and making a really decent commission.  Instead, I drive around and suddenly pink and blue concentric boxes show up and I am notified that I will earn an extra $1.79 on the next ride.

John Oliver Understands How I Feel About Lyft Personal Power Zones

4. Demand Is Now Par With Uber.  I have not conducted any survey or test to make this assertion.  But after 25,000 rides, I have a good sense of how long I have to wait for a ping.  I use to wait longer for Uber.  Now I wait the same for Uber as I do for Lyft.

5. Now 2 Destination Filters.  This happened recently for me. Lyft notified me that I have just two destination filters at my disposal. I had six.  Now I have two just like with Uber.  What is even worse is Uber only counts a destination filter use if you actually use it.  If you don’t get a ping, it does not count.  With Lyft, once you set it, whether or not you get a ping, it counts as a use.  This was a huge disappointment.

6. Bonus Down To $300.  Last year, Lyft eliminated the Power Driver Bonus (at $500) and replaced it with the Ride Challenge Bonus.  Now the best I can do is $322.

A Final Reason Lyft Status Is Dropping

I suppose the sting of this betrayal is that Lyft appeared to be something different.  With Uber, we all knew what we were getting.  Uber was hard but fair.  Lyft is now also hard, but not as fair.

Case in point, cleaning fees.  I recently wrote an article on Uber and Lyft’s cleaning fee reimbursement policy.  With Lyft, you have to report the damage before the next ride, or six hours after, whichever comes first.  Otherwise, they can deny your claim.  Uber, on the other hand, gives you three days to submit your request.

What RSG Readers Say

In a recent rideshare survey, we asked our readers to tell us how satisfied they were with Uber and Lyft.  The results were surprising:

From this chart, we can see that 47.8% of respondents said they either strongly agree or somewhat agree that they are satisfied with Uber.

From this chart, we can see that 52.4 % of respondents said they either strongly agree or somewhat agree that they are satisfied with Lyft.

Given Uber’s tenuous history, I would have expected far more love for Lyft.  Instead, there is only a 5% difference. We must also give Uber a bit of leeway as they are a much bigger company and therefore have more drivers to keep happy.  Two years ago, these numbers were much more in Lyft’s favor.

What RSG Readers Said Two Years Ago

I pulled up the numbers from the RSG 2017 survey, just two years ago.

Uber shows us a 49.4% satisfaction rating versus Lyft’s whopping 75.8%.  In just two years, Lyft’s figures have dropped from 75.5% to 52.4%.  I am not alone in experiencing a growing dissatisfaction with Lyft.

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Key Takeaways

In the end, I have to ask the question:  Does driver satisfaction have any impact on the company’s bottom line?  While I may not like any of the recent changes to Lyft’s policy, I still drive for Lyft.  Their bonus is still better than Uber’s bonus.  Lyft still pays me 80% versus Uber’s 75%. None of the changes I noted in this article have benefited me.

However, similar to Uber and Lyft, I look at the bottom line and in my situation, I can still make more money driving for Lyft, even with all the recent negative developments. It’s all about the benjamins.  If I could make even one more dollar more with Uber, I would switch in a heartbeat! Be safe out there.

Drivers, which company do you prefer to drive for? Do you agree that Lyft has dropped in status to be on par with Uber, or do you still think Lyft is overall ‘better’ than Uber?

-Jay @ RSG