# Power Driver Bonus, New Requirements



## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

Power Driver Bonus, New Requirements:

Was,
10%, do 10 peak hours, 30 hours total
20%, do 10 peak hours, 50 hours total

Now,
10%, do 10 peak rides, 25 rides total
20%, do 15 peak rides, 40 rides total

Acceptance rate is still the same 90%

This will hurt me a little, because I live in the IE, I could sit at home at night Monday - Thursday and get a ton of hours and do very few picks ups, run lyft in the morning from 7am - 8am and get 4 peak hours, leaving only 6 more peak hours and less than 20 more hours to collect on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that made it very easy to work Uber and Lyft at the same time, now it may be a problem..

Just noticed, Lyft added 1 more peak Mon and Tue morning, won't help me, because the peak hours now have ride requirements, yes u can have app on in Fontana, but good luck to me getting a trip..


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

Not to nitpick, but did you really feel like you "earned" that bonus by sitting at home Monday - Thursday and collecting "a ton of hours"?


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

So it's my fault Lyft don't have great business in the IE..

I am not stupid, I do realize Lyft had to do this, if I was CEO I would have done the same, months a go...


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## DieselkW (Jul 21, 2015)

I think it would have made more sense to change the 20% bonus to a percentage of net pay.

For instance, $1000 gross week qualifies hours and peak and acceptance. Driver gets $800 + 20% bonus = $960.

So Lyft gets $40 from a power driver where they used to get only the safety fees.

The new way, power drivers give 40 rides, pays no commission, and Lyft gets only the safety fees.

So, how many rides, painfreepc did you average per week to qualify for the power driver bonus? I couldn't do 50 hours without getting between 30-40 rides.

I haven't been driving for a couple months, but if I wanted to make power driver bonus under the new guidelines the only change I would make is to stop each ride at each new destination. You want to pick up your friend on the way - no problem. End ride at the driveway, new ride if you want to continue in my car. For every multiple pickup passenger I typically have, I could add ten rides a week to my average.

Long trip to the airport: "Oops, I mistakenly hit the arrived button - would you mind pinging me again please?" You can wait a couple miles to pay for the inconvenience.

You want to go to the drive through? No problem, for insurance reasons, I'll have to end the ride in the parking lot and have you ping me again on the other side. Lyft makes it easy - just use the "Last Rider" feature so no one else can ping while you're waiting.

I'll give up the stupid 14¢ a minute for a 20% bonus, no problem.


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

You get the $200.00,
You get the 10% or 20% of the gross,
Lyft don't f you like uber..


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Wow only 40 rides though. Join LA and do 75 for the 20%.


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## CantThrowCantCatch (Sep 17, 2015)

I'm in DC just checked and it says

10% 15 peak rides, 40 total rides
20% 20 peak rides, 65 total rides

The 10% one isn't that hard for me to do.


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

CantThrowCantCatch said:


> I'm in DC just checked and it says
> 
> 10% 15 peak rides, 40 total rides
> 20% 20 peak rides, 65 total rides
> ...


Wow, so it's not the same in every market..


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## uberpa (Nov 12, 2015)

Lyft is losing! 
They turned off pt when Jonas hit! Since then, I seldom see a lyft car around even after they turned pt back on!


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

painfreepc said:


> Wow, so it's not the same in every market..


Nope. 75 rides for me to get the 20 percent.


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## tiguan (Dec 26, 2015)

This is working for me. For the first week, I hit the 10% bonus (Chicago: 15/40) in 22 hours and the 20% bonus in 34 (20/65)

Previously, I only hit the 10% once and never came close to the 20%.


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## mr S (Feb 3, 2016)

andaas said:


> Not to nitpick, but did you really feel like you "earned" that bonus by sitting at home Monday - Thursday and collecting "a ton of hours"?


being "logged in" and "on call" is earning the bonus


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

mr S said:


> being "logged in" and "on call" is earning the bonus


Thanks for that, don't know what's wrong with people, its not like I got no calls at all, I would get a ping about one every few hours, with an ETA upto 20+ minutes, yes I served the call..


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## ADX (Nov 22, 2015)

SF requires 40 Peak Rides, 110 Total.

Easy to make if you actually drive in san francisco full time


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## Fjavier1203 (Nov 26, 2015)

Is a line considered 2 if so it may be easier to make it in San fran... In chicago line is not as popular yet.... It's harder to make it the new pdb if u work burbs... Weekdays... Airport.... U can make it if u drive city..... And weekends


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

A Line request with two pickups is considered two rides.


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## UberLou (May 5, 2015)

mr S said:


> being "logged in" and "on call" is earning the bonus


That may be true if you were an actual Hourly Employee not an IC trying to scam the system. Bottom line you are trying to make the most money you can without doing that much actual work. I do not agree with that.

This is why they make changes, people take advantage of the system. Case in point on Uber you once could see the destination in the Waybill after you accepted the ride but drivers used it to cherry pick rides now guess what, no destination until the ride starts.


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

And you can still do the same thing on Lyft 

So if you are planning on doing 60-80 rides a week, you can do the math and adjust your acceptance rate accordingly, btw. I usually save mine for 2am though, to try and get long rides out of surge zones...


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## Manotas (Dec 2, 2015)

painfreepc said:


> Power Driver Bonus, New Requirements:
> 
> Was,
> 10%, do 10 peak hours, 30 hours total
> ...


I guess they want you to actually leave the house and start chasing pings


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Manotas said:


> I guess they want you to actually leave the house and start chasing pings


Maybe they should pay us for those miles chasing customers for their business?


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

Manotas said:


> I guess they want you to actually leave the house and start chasing pings


let me state before I make my comment below, i like lyft's new power driver bonus system, in a few ways it's a lot easer..

you need to understand that on Friday Saturday and Sunday ( sometimes Thursday included) I was working a shitload of hours,

maybe I'm just stupid or naive but I thought lyft was about serving the community, by staying at home in Fontana with my app on I was making lyft available to the few people that were even using it,

so please make me understand how the hell was that a scam, I still have to work my ass off 3 or 4 days a week to make money so that the 20% added up to anything significant, remember all lyft is doing is not taking a 20% commission are the 10% Commission,

it's not like they're actually giving out free money like Uber,

and remember even when I qualify for the 20%, lyft is still getting the trust and safety fee, that's $2.45 per ride,

with the amount of rides that I was doing per week lyft was getting 100 plus dollars from me weekly, think about it I'm just one driver,

Wow how was Lyft getting $100+ dollars from me, that a few say is just sitting collecting hours,

and I'm going to say this again, uber is the one who throws out free money as a bonus, all lyft is doing is not taking the Commission, but keeping the trust and safety fee,

and also remember uber takes 20% fee right out of the gross fare they divide that $16 by 60minutes, then they deduct $0.266667 for every minute you did not work during those qualifying hours,

and also remember no guarantee Uber going to pay U s***..


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

painfreepc - That is totally fine, and I agree that if you were online and providing service from your home, then those hours are deserved. I think your phrasing (are we still doing phrasing?), made it seem that you were more hiding out at home rather than being available. On call, etc., is definitely valued in lower service areas - and better served at home than in your car.

I do that myself, but not the few times I was able to get the PD bonus before the change - I'd mainly chill at home until the first request came in.


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

andaas said:


> painfreepc - That is totally fine, and I agree that if you were online and providing service from your home, then those hours are deserved. I think your phrasing (are we still doing phrasing?), made it seem that you were more hiding out at home rather than being available. On call, etc., is definitely valued in lower service areas - and better served at home than in your car.
> 
> I do that myself, but not the few times I was able to get the PD bonus before the change - I'd mainly chill at home until the first request came in.


 well I guess we agree to disagree, cuz I don't see how the hell that is hiding, yes I did a few calls at home and I collected required hours but I still had to get my ass to LA three or four days a week work my ass off to make real money so that 20% added up to something.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

I was referring to your original post; not the one today. I was actually backing up your recent post as clearing up my misunderstanding from your first post. I suppose I could have been more clear about that (sometimes my fingers don't type everything I may have been thinking at the time, lol).

To quote...


> ...because I live in the IE, I could sit at home at night Monday - Thursday and get a ton of hours and do very few picks ups...


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## tiguan (Dec 26, 2015)

The other thing that I like about the new requirements is that I no longer have a need to keep the app on to milk hours when I really don't feel like doing another pick up am heading home etc.

The only downside that I can see is that this does give Lyft a way to prevent drivers from getting the 20% just by slowing down the number of times they're pinged as they get close. I'm not saying they will do that (though UBER almost certainly would) just that it opens up the possibility for abuse on their part.


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## Rjl (Aug 2, 2015)

Love the new prime time. Had 20 hours on Wednesday already


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

tiguan said:


> The only downside that I can see is that this does give Lyft a way to prevent drivers from getting the 20% just by slowing down the number of times they're pinged as they get close. I'm not saying they will do that (though UBER almost certainly would) just that it opens up the possibility for abuse on their part.


This is what I'm afraid of most. They're really not upfront on how drivers get priority rides over others. There are some conspiracy theories on how newer drivers get the best fares as opposed to the older, seasoned ones.


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## Luber4.9 (Nov 25, 2015)

macchiato said:


> This is what I'm afraid of most. They're really not upfront on how drivers get priority rides over others. There are some conspiracy theories on how newer drivers get the best fares as opposed to the older, seasoned ones.


Why not just ask them this on Twitter directly? Do you throttle driver requests as they near the 20% bonus level? Simple question. Since they are into transparency it should get answered.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

You think they wouldn't lie?
Two weeks before the change, I got 40 rides in my ~31-32 hours. Which is enough (with 15 peak time which I'm sure I got under the new PT hours) to get the 20% bonus.
Week after that, 36 rides.
Last week? I barely scraped 25 needed for the 10% but still didn't even hit the 10 required PT rides.
Does make me wonder.


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## ADX (Nov 22, 2015)

The only complaint I have about the new PDB is the 2011 requirement (I have a 2010). The rides are easy for my to make but now I can't even upgrade my car because no one is willing to finance a full time driver, even with 750+ credit and 50k gross salary. My current car lender wanted to charge me 10% interest LOL


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## grayspinner (Sep 8, 2015)

I got the 20% bonus last week no problems. 

I am unhappy with the 2011 requirements as well - # of rides is not an issue


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

Easy peasy


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## tiguan (Dec 26, 2015)

Had a busy week with my real job, so I didn't drive much. Still hit the 10% in 22 hours overall/7 peak time hours.


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

I really like the new system myself - this gives you a lot more flexibility to stay offline and reposition ahead of prime time rates if you know your market. Then you come back online after the suckers take the regular fares.

But I still have to quit in March. I am not buying a new car for this, especially not with a rate cut looming. I have no idea how Philadelphia has escaped the rate cuts so far - competition over drivers must be fierce here. Lyft will be losing their good, smart, most profitable drivers. I am rated 4.9 and have maintained that 4.8-4.9 since August.


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## Contuber (Jan 31, 2016)

I spent 2.5 hours online this morning, got only 4 pings, each 8-10 minutes away, each minimal fare, zero tips. 2.5 hours for $12, what a waste of time.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

MiddleClassedOut said:


> I really like the new system myself - this gives you a lot more flexibility to stay offline and reposition ahead of prime time rates if you know your market. Then you come back online after the suckers take the regular fares.
> 
> But I still have to quit in March. I am not buying a new car for this, especially not with a rate cut looming. I have no idea how Philadelphia has escaped the rate cuts so far - competition over drivers must be fierce here. Lyft will be losing their good, smart, most profitable drivers. I am rated 4.9 and have maintained that 4.8-4.9 since August.


Same situation for me. I drove Lyft exclusively, except when Uber was surging 1.5x or more.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

Contuber said:


> I spent 2.5 hours online this morning, got only 4 pings, each 8-10 minutes away, each minimal fare, zero tips. 2.5 hours for $12, what a waste of time.


Not a huge difference but isn't Sacramento $4 minimum? Meaning you got $16 (if you're going after the PDB, commission doesn't count)? The best advice I can give about this work is to compare it to serving tables or bar. Sometimes it's slammed, you're getting $100+ checks with great tippers. And sometimes you get the 16 year couple sharing an appetizer and tipping 10%. At least in TNC work you can choose your hours, your "section", and can send yourself home whenever you like.


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## Contuber (Jan 31, 2016)

BostonBarry said:


> Not a huge difference but isn't Sacramento $4 minimum? Meaning you got $16 (if you're going after the PDB, commission doesn't count)?


$12 is after commission, right. The same picture for all days this week so far.

The 10% requirement here is 20/45 trips, and 20% is 25/75. With this number of pings, I'm struggling to get to even 10%. Totally isn't worth it. And this 90% acceptance requirement is killing the only freedom that we have - to ignore pings that are 18 0r 25 minutes away.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

Accept, call, explain how far you are according to GPS app, rider will almost always cancel for you. If not, you can cancel on the rare ones and shouldn't suffer greatly for your rate. We have just about the same requirement in Boston. I did it in 35 hours last week. I'm 1/3 of the way there this week, with only 13 hours online and those weren't the "good" hours. Tomorrow and Saturday will be my big business days. Guess we're still lucky in Boston.


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## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> Easy peasy


How much time do you spend driving on the uber platform.I wish I could drive lyft only,but unfortunately I'm in a uber market


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## Contuber (Jan 31, 2016)

BostonBarry said:


> Accept, call, explain how far you are according to GPS app, rider will almost always cancel for you.


I've seen remote pings (20+ min) from farms or from Costco plaza in the next town. These people must be desperate to get a ride. I also get a lot of pings 10-12-15 min away, they rarely cancel, especially if they are heading to the Amtrak (train) station.


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## grayspinner (Sep 8, 2015)

Accept the pings & text them saying you are X minutes away and they'll need to cancel because that's too far to drive. They'll cancel & that helps your acceptance rate & doesn't hurt it. Most pax are pretty understanding of this


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## vesolehome (Aug 2, 2015)

Starting Monday, March 7 _(or February 1 in SFO, SAN, and SLC),_cars will need to be model year 2011 or newer in order to be eligible for Power Driver Bonus.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

KMANDERSON said:


> How much time do you spend driving on the uber platform.I wish I could drive lyft only,but unfortunately I'm in a uber market


1 ride per month. Uber is the backup. I hate driving for Uber. It is only there in case I need it. That week I grossed over $1k in fares and tips. Profit margin is roughly 72%, so $700 net. I would have drove more but I did some work as Ambassador and Mentor which got me about $300 more. So a good week, to be sure.


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## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> 1 ride per month. Uber is the backup. I hate driving for Uber. It is only there in case I need it. That week I grossed over $1k in fares and tips. Profit margin is roughly 72%, so $700 net. I would have drove more but I did some work as Ambassador and Mentor which got me about $300 more. So a good week, to be sure.


Lyft is definitely the better company for drivers.Only bad thing depending on what city you are in.lyft does not have enough demand to do Lyft only


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

That's what I hear. But honestly, Lyft is definitely smaller than Uber here in Boston. I do sometimes go 15 or 20 minutes without a ping and if I drop off in a remote area there is a much smaller chance I'll grab a Lyft back to the city than an uber. But what Lyft offers is enough to keep me loyal and making money. I definitely have to hustle, but it's worth it.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> That's what I hear. But honestly, Lyft is definitely smaller than Uber here in Boston. I do sometimes go 15 or 20 minutes without a ping and if I drop off in a remote area there is a much smaller chance I'll grab a Lyft back to the city than an uber. But what Lyft offers is enough to keep me loyal and making money. I definitely have to hustle, but it's worth it.


The problem I've seen with Lyft here in Dallas is simply just too many Lyft drivers on the road. It's been overcrowded since late December/early January. I can be right near the highest ride request areas and sit for 90+ minutes between requests*.

Going to be driving this weekend, we'll see if things have improved.

_* I should note that this was in the 2 weeks following NYE. I haven't logged much time on Lyft since those weeks because whenever I look at the passenger app there are just Lyft cars EVERYWHERE._


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## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

andaas said:


> The problem I've seen with Lyft here in Dallas is simply just too many Lyft drivers on the road. It's been overcrowded since late December/early January. I can be right near the highest ride request areas and sit for 90+ minutes between requests*.
> 
> Going to be driving this weekend, we'll see if things have improved.
> 
> _* I should note that this was in the 2 weeks following NYE. I haven't logged much time on Lyft since those weeks because whenever I look at the passenger app there are just Lyft cars EVERYWHERE._


That the difference in the size of the companys.Uber can handle oversaturation of driver cause there alot of riders.But lyft did not need to oversaturate dallas with driver.Even before NYE there were not alot of request for rides.But I notice I seen alot more request the past two weeks.


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## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> That's what I hear. But honestly, Lyft is definitely smaller than Uber here in Boston. I do sometimes go 15 or 20 minutes without a ping and if I drop off in a remote area there is a much smaller chance I'll grab a Lyft back to the city than an uber. But what Lyft offers is enough to keep me loyal and making money. I definitely have to hustle, but it's worth it.


Is rideshare you full time job.The reason I ask is because there a difference in the amount of time you can offer lyft as driver then someone that part time.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

Yes, 99% of my income derives from lyft in one way or another, but mostly driving.


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## Contuber (Jan 31, 2016)

Finally I met the 10% requirement (20/45 trips) Saturday morning. Less than $200 total for the week, Mon-Fri 5 hours each, and 1.5 hours on Sat, mostly minimal fares, with a couple of $8-9 "jewels". 

Also made a couple of Uber surge trips Friday night, $15 for a half an hour. I made just $28 on Lyft for the previous 4.5 hours, including $1 tip. 

I'm done with it, no more Lyft PDB chasing. Keeping this precious 90% acceptance rate is too much stretch. I'd better let those no surge pax to walk.


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## AshyLarry81 (Mar 2, 2015)

Contuber said:


> Finally I met the 10% requirement (20/45 trips) Saturday morning. Less than $200 total for the week, Mon-Fri 5 hours each, and 1.5 hours on Sat, mostly minimal fares, with a couple of $8-9 "jewels".
> 
> Also made a couple of Uber surge trips Friday night, $15 for a half an hour. I made just $28 on Lyft for the previous 4.5 hours, including $1 tip.
> 
> I'm done with it, no more Lyft PDB chasing. Keeping this precious 90% acceptance rate is too much stretch. I'd better let those no surge pax to walk.


Completely agree. I've been keeping a trip log since day 1 and noticed that cherry picking my rides increases my pay for each hour that I'm driving - even if it means I won't hit the 90% acceptance rate that's necessary for the bonus.


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