During my career, I have gone from knowing exactly how much Lyft is taking from my passengers’ pay (20%) to not knowing, and I am sure you are wondering too what percentage does Lyft take from drivers?
As we are now in the age of Black Box Upfront Pricing, all we see is how much we get paid. We do not see how much the passenger paid. I have heard and read that many disgruntled drivers suggest Lyft is taking upwards of 50% of passengers’ pay.
This is a constant complaint. We drivers used to get paid a flat percentage, and now we don’t know what we are getting as a percentage of what Lyft gets.
This article will show you how to calculate Lyft’s “take rate.” I will show you my take rate for the past two months. I will also offer my opinions about whether this information really matters for drivers. Let’s get into it.
Background
How much do they take? According to this article, the take rate is approximately 50%.
Lyft makes you do the legwork to see how much they take from your pay.
Wouldn’t it be great to see that information in our upfront data?
Apparently, that is too much information for drivers to handle. But there is a workaround. Let me show you how.
What Percentage Does Lyft Take From Drivers? Calculate Your Take Rate
You can get all the information on your phone in the Lyft app for the take rate by following the below steps. I included screenshots to make it even easier to follow!
1. Click on the dollar button in the top center of the home screen. That will take you to the second screenshot.
2. Click on ‘See Weekly Breakdown.’ This will take you to the third screenshot.
3. You can toggle to the week you want to evaluate. All the information we need is toward the bottom of the screen.
Lyft does us a favor and provides the passenger payments less tips and the driver’s earnings less tips. All we need to do is some simple division:
$402.81 / $510.57 = 79%.
Lyft’s take rate is 21% for this week.
Results: Last 8 Weeks
I’d like to see my average for the past two months. Here is what I discovered:
Over the past two months, Lyft took 33%, not including tips.
Does This Matter?
This information is interesting. However, it is not actionable. There is nothing you or I can do to change Lyft’s take rates. They will offer you rides, bonuses, and promotions, and you will take the appropriate actions to maximize your revenue.
The real question is, are you making enough per hour to make driving worth your time? If you are making $35 per hour while Lyft has a take rate of 50%, are you happy with $35 per hour? I am. The take rate does not matter.
If I were making $20 an hour and Lyft had a lower take rate of 10%, it still does not matter. I am not happy making $20 an hour.
Are you making the money you need to make? That is the seminal question.
Key Takeaways
I did not think Lyft took so much from my pay. I was surprised to see anything over 30%. But as I said, it does not matter. I earn over $30 an hour for a job I love. It works for me to drive on the weekends, get out of the house, talk to interesting people, and watch a sunrise.
Lyft provides the opportunity, and I am grateful. Let them take as much as they can—that is their game, anyway. My game is to make $40 an hour. If I win, I keep driving. If I lose and make less than $30 an hour, then I will stop. Be safe out there.
