# First week driving for Lyft: $11/hour



## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

I was accepted to drive for Lyft last week. This week (Monday) I started driving. I drove 4 days total. Factoring in gas expenses but NOT wear and tear on vehicle, I made approximately $11/hr.

Most of my trips were during the day. I tried driving Friday night and stopped because a drunk guy almost threw up in my car and was belligerent and apparently gave me a 1-star rating. After that I decided I would not drive at night anymore.

Here are my calculations:

$210.24 total take-home pay inc. tips
250 mi driven / ~25 mpg = 10 gal gas
10 gal gas * $3.00 per gallon = $30 gas

$210 pay - $30 gas = $180 net
10% "power driver" bonus = $21 (?)
$180 + $21 = *$201 grand total net*

17h 10m driving time
+approx 50m non driving time
*18h total time*

$201 / 18 hours = *$11.17 per hour*

As stated, this does not include wear and tear on my vehicle or cleaning time and supplies. Factor those in and I'm looking at probably $9~10/hour.


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

But you're making life changing money, no?

Oh wait...that's the other guys.


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

Yeah, if you're not willing to drive the high demand times on weekends, that's what you're going to make.

My net, even before guarantees this week, is $20.5/hr. Before expenses of course. Consider that some of those hours were spent milking guarantees by doing only one ride per hour, and it looks a lot better.


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## Archie8616 (Oct 13, 2015)

Since there is no specific City listing for the Lyft section...I work the Denver and other areas. I just started driving about a month ago for Lyft. I came from the Uber side. I do like the fact that there is a tip option, and I like the layout of the app and how easy it is to pay yourself. But the times between customers is getting longer and longer. I even had a customer last night in Denver that she says there are literally Lyft Drivers on every corner whenever she turns the app on, and she thought it was fantastic! She did mention that it takes longer to get an Uber ride, and her wait times are usually around 5 to 9 minutes. It's great for customers that they don't have to wait, but for a Contractor, it's not good business to have so many on the road at literally every hour of the day. I waited for about 20 minutes, turned off the Lyft app, turned on the Uber app and no less then a minute, I had a request...and another and another, ride after ride, I was getting requests. It made a bad day into a better day. So I'm back to driving more on the Uber app then the Lyft app. I'm now just doing those Hey...if you drive 20 rides, we'll bump ya $250...Then last week I got another email from Lyft...Hey, if you drive just 30 rides, we'll bump ya another $250... and getting those 20 and 30 rides was a struggle. But ya, I need the money to help with bills that my Primary job doesn't cover. So I'm not going to stress too much, but I'm not just going to sit around for 20 or so minutes when I can log into the Uber app and know for sure I'll be busy. Moral of the story...have both apps.


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

MiddleClassedOut said:


> My net, even before guarantees this week, is $20.5/hr. Before expenses of course.


Then that would be your gross, not net.

What did you come away with AFTER expenses? That's the meaningful number.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

You said $21 for 10% PDB but said your take home was $210, this doesn't add up. Can you show a screenshot of your pay summary? 

I usually gross at least $25/hour but my schedule is unusual. I drive 12-14 hours on Thursday, Friday and either Saturday or split with late night Saturday and Sunday. So 36 hours in 3-4 days, which is usually how long it takes for me to get to the 20% PDB. On that I usually get $900-1100 in fares and my profit margin after all expenses is about 72%. My hourly would look a lot better if I didn't have to be online for the slow hours.


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

BostonBarry said:


> You said $21 for 10% PDB but said your take home was $210, this doesn't add up. Can you show a screenshot of your pay summary?


The $210 I referred to was pre-bonus. I'm guessing on how the bonus is applied anyway. Perhaps "take home pay" was the wrong choice of words. It was my pre-bonus pay that I actually cashed out before the bonus.

If my 10% bonus is for $210 total pre-bonus pay then (I'm assuming) the result would be $21. If this is wrong let me know.



BostonBarry said:


> I usually gross at least $25/hour but my schedule is unusual. I drive 12-14 hours on Thursday, Friday and either Saturday or split with late night Saturday and Sunday.


I understand. The problem is that I don't want to work weekends because I have friends and girls I date and want to be able to spend time with them when they're free... which is usually the weekends. Also, I don't want to work evenings ferrying drunk hipsters all over town and the associated risks attendant therewith.

I wanted to work a solid 8 hour day like a normal job but I can see that's pretty much impossible unless you don't mind making less than minimum wage. That is, unless you cheat the system like it seems some people here do with location spoofing and whatnot. While I'm not averse to that it seems like more trouble than it's worth.

If I could do a couple hours on the weekends and spoof the system so that I only have to do one trip an hour, then it might be worth it. If I could drive one drunk hipster home and then pocket a guaranteed $40 that would be fine. If I could figure out how some of the guys here reject pings without affecting their acceptance rate then that would be even more beneficial.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

Flarpy said:


> I understand. The problem is that I don't want to work weekends because I have friends and girls I date and want to be able to spend time with them when they're free... which is usually the weekends. Also, I don't want to work evenings ferrying drunk hipsters all over town and the associated risks attendant therewith.
> 
> I wanted to work a solid 8 hour day like a normal job but I can see that's pretty much impossible unless you don't mind making less than minimum wage. That is, unless you cheat the system like it seems some people here do with location spoofing and whatnot. While I'm not averse to that it seems like more trouble than it's worth.


While it's not exactly a "solid 8 hour day", you could probably find workable hours on Monday-Friday that can provide this for you. Just slightly outside of a 9-5 schedule. Try working 4:30am-8:30am, and 3:30pm-7:30pm. While I can't attest to having done those hours personally, it would seem that during these hours you would get the morning/evening rush hour surge, likely some airport trips, but mostly business commuters. You're giving yourself 8 hours of work hours each day, and can meet friends and girls you date for lunch every day if you want (hell, meet 1 girl at 11:30am, meet a 2nd girl at 1:00).


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

After expenses it's probably only around $18/hr...But will go back to $20 with the guarantees that I won't see until tomorrow morning.

I am really limiting my expenses and maximizing profitability by only driving some Friday, 10-12 hours Saturday, and Sunday if it looks busy.


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## avguste (Apr 7, 2016)

I am in Dallas/Ft Worth and I also started driving for Lyft last weekend and so far 2 trips only. Seems Lyft is not busy at all.
So I have done similar to the op. I am using both apps at the same time. First come, first serve.....


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

Er, so I was wrong. After guarantees made $25/hr net...So $23 after expenses. They are paying $2 extra for each Lyft Line ride in my area, that's in the Other category...We'll see. The few non Prime Time rides I did were terrible. The estimator shows it to be 10% cheaper usually. According to the website this varies depending upon driver availability and the probability of getting another passenger en route.

Obviously as a driver I don't like not knowing what I'll be making.


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## Manotas (Dec 2, 2015)

Flarpy said:


> I was accepted to drive for Lyft last week. This week (Monday) I started driving. I drove 4 days total. Factoring in gas expenses but NOT wear and tear on vehicle, I made approximately $11/hr.
> 
> Most of my trips were during the day. I tried driving Friday night and stopped because a drunk guy almost threw up in my car and was belligerent and apparently gave me a 1-star rating. After that I decided I would not drive at night anymore.
> 
> ...


That's my average too (except that gas is cheaper in S. Florida), I don't do peak hours because of my work schedule and I don't do late weekends because I have no patience for the drunk party crowd... I still bag $250 average weekly before expenses, taxes, etc. BTW make sure you put cash aside for taxes


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

andaas said:


> While it's not exactly a "solid 8 hour day", you could probably find workable hours on Monday-Friday that can provide this for you. Just slightly outside of a 9-5 schedule. Try working 4:30am-8:30am, and 3:30pm-7:30pm. While I can't attest to having done those hours personally, it would seem that during these hours you would get the morning/evening rush hour surge, likely some airport trips, but mostly business commuters. You're giving yourself 8 hours of work hours each day, and can meet friends and girls you date for lunch every day if you want (hell, meet 1 girl at 11:30am, meet a 2nd girl at 1:00).


Thank you for taking the time to write a very thoughtful post, I appreciate it.

I've realized, in part thanks to this forum, that at least for me the only way to make this gig profitable is to "properly utilize"  the guarantee hours (to hell with the paltry power driver bonus) as long as they don't require more than 1 ride per hour and I can avoid obvious airport runs. Working an honest 8 hour day was what I was looking for when I signed up for Lyft, but it became clear very quickly that such a thing was essentially impossible.


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

Nope. If your ethics are stronger than your greed, you can't make money at this.

I game every part of the system I can. I leave requests open to maintain acceptance rate...I actually drove 20 mins back from NE Philly because this jerk wouldn't cancel, and he kept texting and arguing with me all the way there. Those miles were deductible, as per the system as it currently operates (Lyft's system will count them so you have evidence for the IRS). In fact that let me drive online un-requestable back to a heavy Prime Time area without risking my guarantee hour being lost. I'd offered him my usual fee for long-distance pickups, $10. I do one ride an hour during the $20+ guarantees, because the oversaturation of drivers makes it impossible to exceed those guarantees. I sometimes let the phone ring only once to get the cancel fee, especially if there is a better area for me to be in. I cherry pick 2am bar rides. 

Sometimes the oversaturation is so bad I can't even get a ride during the high guarantees. I have a friend who always requests me 

This week I also closed out a probable $25 Prime Time fare because I was gonna make $30/hr anyway with the guarantee and it was only my 2nd ride for the hour. I might have slightly exceeded the guarantee, but why make a PAX pay when you can get it from Lyft? They tipped me $5!

The one thing I don't do is try to screw people on routes. I game the system, not my customers. Jerks who request cars that are over 10 minutes way can cancel or pay the $10 I ask.


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

^^^^ Yup, I think that's how you've got to do it, great post. 

That's pretty ballsy calling them up and telling them to fork over $10. I don't have the guts for that but props to you my friend.


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

andaas said:


> While it's not exactly a "solid 8 hour day", you could probably find workable hours on Monday-Friday that can provide this for you. Just slightly outside of a 9-5 schedule. Try working 4:30am-8:30am, and 3:30pm-7:30pm. While I can't attest to having done those hours personally, it would seem that during these hours you would get the morning/evening rush hour surge, likely some airport trips, but mostly business commuters. You're giving yourself 8 hours of work hours each day, and can meet friends and girls you date for lunch every day if you want (hell, meet 1 girl at 11:30am, meet a 2nd girl at 1:00).


POST # 8/andaas : Oh, Aaaaaaarcher...
you Scaliwaggoneer !
What's your recipe for "Sterling Results"
when the 13:00 gets a good whiff of
Ms. 11:30's Fragrance...err...Cologne?


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

Archie8616 said:


> Since there is no specific City listing for the Lyft section...I work the Denver and other areas. I just started driving about a month ago for Lyft. I came from the Uber side. I do like the fact that there is a tip option, and I like the layout of the app and how easy it is to pay yourself. But the times between customers is getting longer and longer. I even had a customer last night in Denver that she says there are literally Lyft Drivers on every corner whenever she turns the app on, and she thought it was fantastic! She did mention that it takes longer to get an Uber ride, and her wait times are usually around 5 to 9 minutes. It's great for customers that they don't have to wait, but for a Contractor, it's not good business to have so many on the road at literally every hour of the day. I waited for about 20 minutes, turned off the Lyft app, turned on the Uber app and no less then a minute, I had a request...and another and another, ride after ride, I was getting requests. It made a bad day into a better day. So I'm back to driving more on the Uber app then the Lyft app. I'm now just doing those Hey...if you drive 20 rides, we'll bump ya $250...Then last week I got another email from Lyft...Hey, if you drive just 30 rides, we'll bump ya another $250... and getting those 20 and 30 rides was a struggle. But ya, I need the money to help with bills that my Primary job doesn't cover. So I'm not going to stress too much, but I'm not just going to sit around for 20 or so minutes when I can log into the Uber app and know for sure I'll be busy. Moral of the story...have both apps.


POST # 4/Archie8616: Double-Dipper !


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

Casuale Haberdasher said:


> POST # 8/andaas : Oh, Aaaaaaarcher...
> you Scaliwaggoneer !
> What's your recipe for "Sterling Results"
> when the 13:00 gets a good whiff of
> Ms. 11:30's Fragrance...err...Cologne?


I thought everyone carried around an extra set of clothes, toiletries, and other necessities with them in their car? Easy to go from one date to another!


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

MiddleClassedOut said:


> Nope. If your ethics are stronger than your greed, you can't make money at this.
> 
> I game every part of the system I can. I leave requests open to maintain acceptance rate...I actually drove 20 mins back from NE Philly because this jerk wouldn't cancel, and he kept texting and arguing with me all the way there. Those miles were deductible, as per the system as it currently operates (Lyft's system will count them so you have evidence for the IRS). In fact that let me drive online un-requestable back to a heavy Prime Time area without risking my guarantee hour being lost. I'd offered him my usual fee for long-distance pickups, $10. I do one ride an hour during the $20+ guarantees, because the oversaturation of drivers makes it impossible to exceed those guarantees. I sometimes let the phone ring only once to get the cancel fee, especially if there is a better area for me to be in. I cherry pick 2am bar rides.
> 
> ...


I love posts like this from the money making veterans who understand and utilize the Lyft system! I think there's a way to do this business where one can net after taxes $55 to $60 thousand a year, with less than 40 hours per week in Driver-Mode. Especially if you utilize some of the non-driver income streams that Lyft makes available.. (i.e. Passenger & Driver Referrals, Mentoring, and anything else that comes along.)


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

andaas said:


> I thought everyone carried around an extra set of clothes, toiletries, and other necessities with them in their car? Easy to go from one date to another!


POST # 18/andaas: I DID do that with
my '89 Dodge"Colty" Wagon
AND its Replacement the '93 Blue"Scorty" Wagon [hey! Wifers owned them 1st],
when I did On-Demand Courier work
in the '90's.

"The Maintenance Nightmare" an 850
Ovlov "Special Edition" Wagon was
Mercifully Totalled at 125K. Beautiful
Looking, but "Wicked Expensive" to
maintain, and the LEAST RELIABLE
Volvo Model EVER ! An Independent
Swedish Repair Specialist described it
as "like having an ANNUITY...for me."


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Yeah, but how much of that hour did you spend driving-driving? Shouldn't top 30-35 minutes if done right


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

Adieu said:


> Yeah, but how much of that hour did you spend driving-driving? Shouldn't top 30-35 minutes if done right


True, but if you play the Lyft game straight, you're still sitting in your car for the time you're not "driving-driving." There are places I'd rather be than sitting in my car.

However, now that I know better what I'm doing, I'd say that I only spend maybe 20 minutes out of each guaranteed-minimum hour_ in my car at all_!


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Breakfast/shower if you don't mind failing like 1/3 of your first guarantee hours of the day...

Shopping works pretty well,but gotta watch your spending

Talking to Uber drivers, why not...occasional useful advice

Talking to Lyft drivers? Only guarantee hours once completed, or intentional breaks... Otherwise, you're blocking each other.



Flarpy said:


> True, but if you play the Lyft game straight, you're still sitting in your car for the time you're not "driving-driving." There are places I'd rather be than sitting in my car.
> 
> However, now that I know better what I'm doing, I'd say that I only spend maybe 20 minutes out of each guaranteed-minimum hour_ in my car at all_!


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

The trick is finding a good place to hide...Don't drive long distances to hide, you're just reducing profit.

In Philly, there is a spot on Passyunk where all these Lyft drivers congregate. A PAX told me one of them was doing drug deals while he did his Lyft ride, lol.

But it's a good spot to hide your car from pings.


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

Flarpy said:


> That's pretty ballsy calling them up and telling them to fork over $10. I don't have the guts for that but props to you my friend.


You know what I'm thinking. As an independent contractor, you are contracting directly with _riders_, not with Lyft. Lyft is merely a service provider that allows you to contract with your riders.

If Lyft wants to bill itself as merely a service provider to connect drivers and riders, then Lyft cannot interfere with that contracting. At least in California, if it tried to, that would be a tort for which Lyft could be sued. One cause of action could be "Intentional Interference With Prospective Economic Advantage." There are likely others (I'm an attorney.)

Therefore, you're perfectly in your rights as an independent contractor, contracting with riders, to negotiate your own pay. So if you want to contact them and raise your fee, Lyft can't sanction you for that. To do so would be interfering with your contracting ability.


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## ND379 (Mar 29, 2016)

AllenChicago said:


> I love posts like this from the money making veterans who understand and utilize the Lyft system! I think there's a way to do this business where one can net after taxes $55 to $60 thousand a year, with less than 40 hours per week in Driver-Mode. Especially if you utilize some of the non-driver income streams that Lyft makes available.. (i.e. Passenger & Driver Referrals, Mentoring, and anything else that comes along.)


maybe stupid but...how do you learn about Lyft's incentives and what not? I'm in Seattle and I don't ever get texts or emails about guaranteed rate hours or anything.


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Flarpy said:


> You know what I'm thinking. As an independent contractor, you are contracting directly with _riders_, not with Lyft. Lyft is merely a service provider that allows you to contract with your riders.
> 
> If Lyft wants to bill itself as merely a service provider to connect drivers and riders, then Lyft cannot interfere with that contracting. At least in California, if it tried to, that would be a tort for which Lyft could be sued. One cause of action could be "Intentional Interference With Prospective Economic Advantage." There are likely others (I'm an attorney.)
> 
> Therefore, you're perfectly in your rights as an independent contractor, contracting with riders, to negotiate your own pay. So if you want to contact them and raise your fee, Lyft can't sanction you for that. To do so would be interfering with your contracting ability.


Nah..they don't care. Well maybe they care more than Uber. I've made the same point to Uber's support and they said that's not how it works. If I cancel rides, I will be kicked off the platform.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

ND379 said:


> maybe stupid but...how do you learn about Lyft's incentives and what not? I'm in Seattle and I don't ever get texts or emails about guaranteed rate hours or anything.


I only get an e-mail guaranteeing $xx per hour..maybe 2 weeks out of the month. I never opt-in because (in Chicago) you need to do 2 rides per hour and the guarantee is only $17 for that hour. If I get 2 rides in an hour out here in the suburbs, I'll be over $17 in income.

ND379...you're nowhere near stupid. Lyft doesn't deliver detailed communications to drivers. Just a lot of e-mails that are full of "Go Get-em!" content, and retail discounts that aren't relevant to our business.

The only way I know of for finding the latest Lyft driver and passenger incentives, for our particular regions, is at this official Lyft Promotions and Rewards web page: *https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/categories/201235657-Promotions-Rewards*

-Allen


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