# New Lyft driver in new Reno, NV market



## Squirrely (Oct 23, 2015)

Hey all,

First post. Lyft just launched in Reno about a week ago and I'm one of the "founding" drivers. I'm writing this message from my car (parked of course!) as the market currently seems to be DEAD outside of the weekend, and even that isn't too busy. Is this common for a new launch? I usually see like 5-8 other Lyft cars around the downtown area, so yea, adaquate supply, but very little demand. I used to drive around looking for passengers, but I discovered that's just a crapshoot and a waste of gas. Any tips?

My other big worry is this.

The Lyft team that launched Lyft spoke practically nothing of the inherit risks of insurance. It was all smiles and a very warm set of on-boarding and group interviews, but it looks like one can get really screwed in the event of an accident. Even if I got into an accident while let's say on my way to my normal job, and not lyfting, I could lose my insurance and all other insurers wouldn't insure me if they discovered that I'm ride-sharing.

The Lyft team never announced this which seems borderline illegal. I only discovered the risks involve by forums such as this while waiting for passengers being very bored with no requests. I'm currently in a background check for Uber and maybe being on both platforms I'll start making money...

But the fact that I'm pretty much getting like 1-3 requests a night, it makes me wonder if this is at all worth it. It seems like I have a lot to lose and maybe $5 per hour if I'm lucky on a weekday. It seems that Lyft has everything to gain while the drivers inherit a lot of serious risks in terms of losing insurance. I'm surprised that ride sharing can be legal, yet no insurance is offered for a reasonable price for one car... And regular insurance is adaquate for legal use ride-sharing but nearly certain to get removed if discovered by insurance provider.

Should I quit? I've never been in accident in my 14 years of driving... But who knows...
Any input? Hopefully business picks up, otherwise this seems like a sour deal.


----------



## Rivmage (Oct 15, 2015)

Could you print up some card with your referral code? You could walk up and down the strip handing them out and offering free rides (up to $20) for first time riders using that code while earning a referral bonus for yourself. 

Scott


----------



## Uberselectguy (Oct 16, 2015)

Not many people grasp the exposure to liability and how it affects them daily. In a worse case scenario, you have a Pax and there is a your fault accident. The pax is either killed or injured. Virtually every personal car insurance policy does not cover you against liability while you are enroute with a paying pax. You fall at the mercy of James River or whoever Lyft or Uber uses. Of course, that can change daily and you would not know it until informed.
You have a policy limit of $1 million with Uber and Lyft. Sounds like a lot? Don't fool yourself. You kill a 30 something bread winner and the wrongful death suit can easily go into the multi millions. Same is true if you injure your pax. Just take a moment and look at case law involving taxi pax deaths.
Once a lawsuit is lost, the insurer pays its maximum ... the rest is on you. There are people that pay judgements for the rest of their lives, ruining them financially. Think you can escape it through bankruptcy, wrong. Seldom do federal courts include judgements of this nature.

I carried a 5 million dollar umbrella policy through Geico and I still felt exposed.

I quit as a driver, the risk was driving my nightmares.


----------



## Aztek98 (Jul 23, 2015)

Your in a very small market. Don't expect too much.


----------



## mrlasvegas (Aug 9, 2015)

I went through all possible scenarios with my Farmers agent before starting in Vegas. I work in safety and Loss Mitigation for one of the world's largest transportation companies during the day. Even have a big piece of paper that says I have a bachelors degree in Safety with an emphasis on risk management. With all that said, it is important that all Uber and Lyft drivers understand a few key concepts. One, and the most important, is the concept of the deep pocket. You are not the deep pocket. Neither is your insurer. Uber and Lyft are. So most litigation will be directed at them with you as a co defendent. Personal injury lawyers don't want to take payments from you. They want a lump settlement, for obvious reasons. Farmers will defend you in a civil suit.
The above statement should not be taken as a free pass, however. Some key choices need to be made. Watch YouTube videos on the Smith system. Memorize it and live it. That will eliminate 95 percent of potential at fault accidents. How about the other 5 percent of accidents? Pay attention and get some sleep. Driver fatigue is a major cause of most fatal accidents. No matter how badly you need the money, don't work a long shift then off to Uber. I recommend limiting yourself to 10 hours a day. And drive hours similar to those you normally work.
In an accident? Do some simple things. Take pictures after confirming the other party is not in need of medical attention. Never say you are sorry or admit to ANYTHING. Also photograph skid marks. But I think I will put instructions in how to do that in another thread.


----------



## Squirrely (Oct 23, 2015)

Thanks for the responses guys. I consider myself a pretty good driver, which I'm sure everyone does.. But yea, no at fault accidents in about 14 years or so... I just wish NV insurers would hurry up and get some hybrid policies going which I think would help me sleep much better at night. Forget what I said earlier about Reno being a dead market... At least for last night.

Zombie bar crawl...

HOLY SH&$

7 pm to 4:30 am, NON-STOP requests. Literally, within 5-10 seconds of a drop off I'd get a new request. It was glorious. I'm sure many of you know the feeling and are probably used to it, but it was a new experience for me and it was AWESOME. I did very well. Probably close to ~$35-38/hour. Unfortunately these kinds of days will be rare. Most of my customers tip which means I must be doing something well. Or just a new market thing.

Question.

I got my 30 hour Lyft power driver bonus last night.

Do I get compensated at 90-10% for the week instead of 80-20%?

Because my next day "daily summary" seemed to indicate the normal 80-20 ratio. Is the power driver bonus only indicated on the weekly summary? I emailed asking Lyft after reading their FAQ and I wasn't sure but they take a while to respond to inquiries.

Thanks for the help.

-New Lyfter


----------

