# Express Drive: just say "no"



## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

I've been driving with Lyft with Express Drive for the few months (over 7000 miles, over 800 trips). This is in San Francisco, a relatively compact city at only 7x7 miles. I'm driving a Chevy Trax (FWD, not AWD).

The car is great: passengers love it and it's a comfy ride with a small (1.4L turbo) engine that has plenty of torque to get up our hills and great acceleration (once the turbo kicks in). But here's the problem: MPG. The car only gets about 25mpg city. That's pretty crummy these days as a 2015 Prius doubles that. Gas is a major expense in this line of work.

In San Francisco, Lyft doesn't currently offer more fuel efficient vehicles (they sometimes have the Chevy Cruze, with 28mpg). For example, the Malibu is also 25mpg, and the Equinox is 22mpg. Since mid-last year Lyft and GM have said that Lyft drivers will receive the bulk of all new Bolts (128mpge) produced initially but nothing has been said since and when I got my car in November the guys at the lot were clueless.

Compared to Uber, rider demand for Lyft in San Francisco is pretty weak. It's about 60% of what Uber's demand is. Add to that the fact that when you do Express Drive you don't qualify for incentives outside of rental reimbursement (if you hit 75 rides in the week) and hourly guarantees (if they offer them to you), it's tough to break through the $8-$10/hr wage once you deduct gas. For a frame of reference, I burn through about $24 in gas for every 12hr shift I do. If you could make it up with rides that would be awesome but the fact is that with Lyft (in SF) you are going to be spending far more time driving around without passengers compared to Uber.

I'm going to guess that in LA the situation is worse since LA is so spread out and the traffic...

So in these days of dwindling incentives from Lyft, increasing fuel costs, and generally inefficient Express Drive cars, I don't think this program makes much sense.


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## BbKtKeanu (Dec 7, 2016)

#deleteUber might help us even the playing field. I'm hoping this week is better. Driving in LA is actually not bad it stays pretty consistent just rarely long trips and the surge is unreliable. Usual complaints but hey at least I don't have a car payment. 70 rides per week here but I signed up in Orange County. It's working but I am looking for a real job.


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

I'm doing the Express Drive in Sacramento. I have _never _hit the 75 rides to get the "free" rental. I do not financially need to drive or have a job really. So I literally just do this for fun.

Last week:

Rides: Around 50
Gas costs: $100
Rental costs: Around $200 ($180 +taxes)
Total cash out: about $300

I got a deposit today for about $250 which already has the rental charge deducted.

Subtract $100 fuel cost and I made $150.

Yeah, it's not much, but I would otherwise be sitting on my couch watching TV. So $150 funds going out to eat and a movie with my family on a night off.


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## kinicky21 (Sep 17, 2016)

drivininsac said:


> I'm doing the Express Drive in Sacramento. I have _never _hit the 75 rides to get the "free" rental. I do not financially need to drive or have a job really. So I literally just do this for fun.
> 
> Last week:
> 
> ...


Fun or not the question is how long did you have to drive for 50 rides? When I was doing my Lyft promotion in Chicago 50 rides took 50 hours. You cleared 3 bucks an hour. That hurts. Personally for3 an hour id rather be with my family. Good luck to you sir. Oh wait at the end of the year you get 1099 for taxes. That Three An hour could turn into negative money and you could be paying to work.

Oh and not to sound like a jerk almost everyone is doing this to try to eat and pay the bills and you got 50 rides you possibly had to pay for to do. Anyway you can just go volunteer somewhere to pass the time?


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

kinicky21 said:


> Fun or not the question is how long did you have to drive for 50 rides? When I was doing my Lyft promotion in Chicago 50 rides took 50 hours. You cleared 3 bucks an hour. That hurts. Personally for3 an hour id rather be with my family. Good luck to you sir. Oh wait at the end of the year you get 1099 for taxes. That Three An hour could turn into negative money and you could be paying to work.
> 
> Oh and not to sound like a jerk almost everyone is doing this to try to eat and pay the bills and you got 50 rides you possibly had to pay for to do. Anyway you can just go volunteer somewhere to pass the time?


Actual time in the car: About 20 hours
Time actually driving a pax: about 8 hours. Of which 1.5 hours was with 1 pax.

I generally only go out when my family is sleeping. So 9pm to whenever I feel like coming home.


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## Holiday (Feb 20, 2015)

Don't forget personal miles that's the real killer.


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

Holiday said:


> Don't forget personal miles that's the real killer.


Unlimited personal miles for me on the rental. Yep, I have it in writing.


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## Holiday (Feb 20, 2015)

drivininsac said:


> Unlimited personal miles for me on the rental. Yep, I have it in writing.


That's great. I guess every market is different


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## kinicky21 (Sep 17, 2016)

Holiday said:


> That's great. I guess every market is different


Yeah I've read a few leases or rentals that charged your butt money during app off personal miles. Highway robbery.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

There's a bonus of $175 for 125 rides a week even on Express Drive


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

Hagong said:


> There's a bonus of $175 for 125 rides a week even on Express Drive


What is this bonus called so I can look for it?


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

drivininsac said:


> Actual time in the car: About 20 hours
> Time actually driving a pax: about 8 hours. Of which 1.5 hours was with 1 pax.


Your actual working time then is 20 hours. If you're in the car with/without a pax is irrelevant. If you're in/out of driver mode is irrelevant (because sometimes you have to be out of driver mode to relocate to a better spot). If you're taking the car to the carwash, that's working time. In short, if you're doing anything related to your ride sharing job, that's working time. Therefore, in the best case scenario, you are making $7.50/hr if you don't include any other expenses other than those you've listed.


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

Hagong said:


> There's a bonus of $175 for 125 rides a week even on Express Drive


Does that still exist? The only time I've ever seen it mentioned was at the Lyft car lot when I picked up my car back in November. It's not visible anywhere in the app as far as I know or anywhere else.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

sfodriver said:


> Does that still exist? The only time I've ever seen it mentioned was at the Lyft car lot when I picked up my car back in November. It's not visible anywhere in the app as far as I know or anywhere else.


It does exist. But contacting support about it might get you different answers.


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

drivininsac said:


> I do not financially need to drive or have a job really. So I literally just do this for fun.


Do you find it "fun" to take money away from people who actually need the job to pay the rent and for food? What kind of lunatic drives strangers around in his car for "fun?" Find a real hobby.


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

Flarpy said:


> Do you find it "fun" to take money away from people who actually need the job to pay the rent and for food? What kind of lunatic drives strangers around in his car for "fun?" Find a real hobby.


I'm pretty sure that was the original mission for Lyft, which originally started as a "donate what you feel like" ride company. I bet Lyft and Uber would prefer that drivers only do this for fun because the people that do never really sit down and figure out how little they're earning.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

A lot of people do thing for fun that others do as a job. 
Also, sure you might be 'working' if you're sitting waiting for a ride, but considering you can do other things (including working in some other way) the per-hour metric isnt the whole picture.


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

CatchyMusicLover said:


> Also, sure you might be 'working' if you're sitting waiting for a ride, but considering you can do other things (including working in some other way) the per-hour metric isnt the whole picture.


I don't know why some drivers need to con themselves into thinking they're making more per hour than they actually are. If you're working at a store and there are no customers and you decide to surf the web for a while you are still getting paid at the same rate.


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Hagong said:


> It does exist. But contacting support about it might get you different answers.


Can you please show a screenshot on your app for the bonus? Thanks. And you say you are doing the express drive? Hmmm


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Already did post SS


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Hagong said:


> Already did post SS


Not a screenshot of email or pay statement. But a screenshot of it on the lyft app, showing rides needed and acceptance rating.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

sfodriver said:


> I don't know why some drivers need to con themselves into thinking they're making more per hour than they actually are. If you're working at a store and there are no customers and you decide to surf the web for a while you are still getting paid at the same rate.


Because the 'per hour' metric isn't really completely relevant in the first place. No one is getting paid per hour on this job, outside of guarantees or whatnot. One day you might make $100 and the next $60 for the same time frame, but that doesn't paint the whole picture. How much you actually drive (i.e. have the engine on) will change how much you actually made over all. If you're at home watching TV while waiting for a ping for an hour, it's not at all the same as being 10 miles away in your car sitting for an hour doing nothing.
Or if you're with a laptop making money some other way, while the app is on, that's hardly the same as actually geting ping after ping and barly stopping your car. 
Sure you can say "I made $10/hr today and $12/hr yesterday" but one can easily do more actual work for the $10/hr metric, and less actual driving (gas/depreciation) for the $12.

So yes, in the grand scheme of things x per hour isn't too relevant. It's not a bad...baseline. 
But there's a mental aspect to it too. If you work in retail you know you're going to get X in a day no matter how busy. On top of which you have to answer to someone else 
With this, you could easily make three times the amount as the previous day. You could log off "early" because it's dead, or because you made whatever your goal is. Or whatever else.

I'm not even trying to say people "are making more than they are". I'm saying it's not the best metric of things. To give another example, in the Vegas forum someone posted about their "great ride" where they made about $72 before expenses for taking someone about 90 miles away. It ends up thus being about 180 miles in three hours. Sure on the surface that seems great, $24/hr, half of it with no actual 'work' except driving home.
But consider how many miles you put on the car for that amount it doesn't look so rosy. Plus you're "locked in" for three hours, as it were (unlike in many areas, once you're outside of Vegas any ride opportunities are completly nil, either because there's no service area or at least because no one is over there needing rides).


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

Here, let me break it down for you: take last week, take the actual amount of money you were paid by Lyft and divide by the number of hours you sat in your car with the intention of driving including the time you may have been offline to relocate to a different area between rides (aka "deadhead segments"). That's a standard metric. You are over thinking this.


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## Wiseleo (Feb 8, 2017)

sfodriver said:


> So in these days of dwindling incentives from Lyft, increasing fuel costs, and generally inefficient Express Drive cars, I don't think this program makes much sense.


I must be in an alternate reality. 

Because I am still under the $1500/week bonus plan, I actually make effort to not make money and still qualify for my incentive. That's hard. It's too easy to accidentally rack up $300+ in a day in fares. 

I drive a vehicle that gets 18-25mpg, which is worse than the Express rental.

It is a Plus qualified vehicle, but most of my rides are not Plus. I am happy with what I make. I use my time productively when not driving.

Reducing fuel expense is simple: drive to the nearest place where you can turn off the engine and wait until next ping. Let Prius drivers work the gridlock.

I escape San Francisco during daytime. There are plenty of rides outside the city. I love driving in San Francisco at night.

Getting 75 rides in a week in San Francisco is not a problem. I can do 30+ in a day and can prove everything I mentioned in this post.

_*If you are reading this because you are concerned that it would be difficult to meet the 75 rides requirement, I can confirm that it's very easy in San Francisco area.*_ Other areas might have insufficient rider flow.


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Wiseleo said:


> View attachment 95978
> 
> 
> I must be in an alternate reality.
> ...


Daaam , $1300 for 69 rides.


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

Something weird going on there. 69 rides in 10hrs? $25 in cancellation fees? What are the hours being driven? And how many of those 69 are plus? No one's making those numbers on regular Lyft in that short amount of time.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

sfodriver said:


> Something weird going on there. 69 rides in 10hrs? $25 in cancellation fees? What are the hours being driven? And how many of those 69 are plus? No one's making those numbers on regular Lyft in that short amount of time.


Previous weeks' earnings report always display the wrong hours.


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Hagong said:


> Previous weeks' earnings report always display the wrong hours.


Yeap, what he said. But yeah, want to know what'sthe percentage of rides are plus rides.


sfodriver said:


> Something weird going on there. 69 rides in 10hrs? $25 in cancellation fees? What are the hours being driven? And how many of those 69 are plus? No one's making those numbers on regular Lyft in that short amount of time.


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## ZKUSHIKURIDOTO (Feb 25, 2016)

Wiseleo said:


> View attachment 95978
> 
> 
> I must be in an alternate reality.
> ...


how do you do 69 rides in 10 hrs? I can't do that with uber in chicago.


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

ZKUSHIKURIDOTO said:


> how do you do 69 rides in 10 hrs? I can't do that with uber in chicago.


Weekly report is faulty. It doesn't show right hours.


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

For some reason the website shows total time you had a rider in the car.

Check your weekly emails for the total time you spent online in driver mode, which is the number we are interested in.

That being said, how many hours were you in driver mode for those 69 rides, according to your weekly summary email?


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## Wiseleo (Feb 8, 2017)

That bonus requires minimum of 50 hours online and minimum of 60 rides. That week was about 55 hours online. I padded a few more rides and hours in case Silicon Valley region activity was ineligible (support claimed it wasn't because Silicon Valley is another region, but it actually was eligible).

Once I hit my bonus, the types of rides were irrelevant. I get $50+ fares on both Plus and regular Lyft. I merely wanted to show that meeting the 75 rides requirement is not a problem.

Currently at 61 rides and 100% acceptance (needed 60 to qualify) and still need to stay online another 15 hours.

Added screenshot from my guarantee calculation showing 56 hours online.


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Wiseleo said:


> That bonus requires minimum of 50 hours online and minimum of 60 rides. That week was about 55 hours online. I padded a few more rides and hours in case Silicon Valley region activity was ineligible (support claimed it wasn't because Silicon Valley is another region, but it actually was eligible).
> 
> Once I hit my bonus, the types of rides were irrelevant. I get $50+ fares on both Plus and regular Lyft. I merely wanted to show that meeting the 75 rides requirement is not a problem.
> 
> ...


Nice, so you have the weekly guarantee for your area for being a plus.

But yeah, 75 rides doable in a week.


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## Wiseleo (Feb 8, 2017)

JuniorSF said:


> Nice, so you have the weekly guarantee for your area for being a plus.
> 
> But yeah, 75 rides doable in a week.


It is just a weekly guarantee that has nothing to do with Plus.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

JuniorSF said:


> Not a screenshot of email or pay statement. But a screenshot of it on the lyft app, showing rides needed and acceptance rating.


http://bit.ly/edrivesfo


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

sfodriver said:


> In San Francisco, Lyft doesn't currently offer more fuel efficient vehicles (they sometimes have the Chevy Cruze, with 28mpg). For example, the Malibu is also 25mpg, and the Equinox is 22mpg. Since mid-last year Lyft and GM have said that Lyft drivers will receive the bulk of all new Bolts (128mpge) produced initially but nothing has been said since and when I got my car in November the guys at the lot were clueless.


Bolt is somewhat available


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Hagong said:


> Bolt is somewhat available
> 
> View attachment 97570
> 
> ...


Lucky you. Wonder where the charging stations are located.


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## bloodchains (Jul 1, 2015)

Wiseleo said:


> View attachment 95978
> 
> 
> I must be in an alternate reality.
> ...


Holy shit, you can do that much in San Francisco?! How the hell do I do that here in LA, have no life and drive 24/7?! Oh, and the requirement here for Rental Express is 85. Well, I'm probably doing it wrong because I'm quite picky on locations (I try to avoid Beverly Hills and those other rich neighborhood places, and sometimes West Hollywood, because I don't like to deal with overly entitled assholes).


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## Morganos (Dec 22, 2015)

Hagong said:


> Bolt is somewhat available
> 
> View attachment 97570
> 
> ...


Dude send me the link
I want a Bolt 
I live in SF.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Wiseleo said:


> View attachment 95978
> 
> 
> I must be in an alternate reality.
> ...


Youre a multiclass vehicle in the country's best market

In other words: YMMV



bloodchains said:


> Holy shit, you can do that much in San Francisco?! How the hell do I do that here in LA, have no life and drive 24/7?! Oh, and the requirement here for Rental Express is 85. Well, I'm probably doing it wrong because I'm quite picky on locations (I try to avoid Beverly Hills and those other rich neighborhood places, and sometimes West Hollywood, because I don't like to deal with overly entitled assholes).


I've done it in LA, had a few $1200-1500 weeks

Requires discipline and picking some gnarly hours, mostly nights Thursday thru Sunday, and a multiclass vehicle (done it on both a Lyft+UberSelect setup in one car and a Lyft/LyftPlus/LyftPremier + UberXL-only in the other)

Btw before the haters pile on, my Select cost me $11,999 (waaaay too much, toy car for my vanity) and my XL cost me $4,600 (+2k in upgrades)


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

Just got this email today. I can't even hit the 75 rides per week. Guess I am vacuuming out my personal car, getting rideshare insurance, and taking the rental back.


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## JuniorSF (Jan 25, 2017)

Got this email for SF. Yeap, gon stop renting now lol.


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## Lyft Standards (Feb 28, 2017)

I got the same email about the new rules.

But I'm confused. So instead of the normal _*75 *rides a week_, *we have to do 100+ to make it?*
_(renting a MIDSIZE with HRTZ)_


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## Morganos (Dec 22, 2015)

That just sounds like Slavery With Extra steps


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

Lyft Standards said:


> I got the same email about the new rules.
> 
> But I'm confused. So instead of the normal _*75 *rides a week_, *we have to do 100+ to make it?*
> _(renting a MIDSIZE with HRTZ)_


That is correct!


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## Lyft Standards (Feb 28, 2017)

okay. but I still don't get it though.

So you make it to 100... great. that's $180 extra?
or if you some how make it to 150 rides or more, that's $305 bucks extra?


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

You know now that I reread the email I think they are playing games with the terminology. Let's see what canned response they can come up with on this one!

I am wondering if this is in addition to the free rental or instead of.


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## Coolrider101nk (Jun 21, 2016)

It looks like they raised the ride count but offered an extra bit of cash to make it more tolerable. I can do 70 in 2.5 shifts and 100 in just under 4, so I know I can do 125 and still have days off. Hopefully I'll get this email soon. ...Vegas


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Lyft Standards said:


> okay. but I still don't get it though.
> 
> So you make it to 100... great. that's $180 extra?
> or if you some how make it to 150 rides or more, that's $305 bucks extra?


It's "extra" $180. But since the rental isn't "free" anymore, that $180 will go towards the rental cost. 
So if you're renting a Cruze or Malibu for $179, your $180 bonus covers the $179 fee


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## Lag Monkey (Feb 6, 2015)

They sent me a different bonus structure with less payout for 150rides. Instead of $305 I get $280..so let's say I do 150 rides I get $280-$180 rental fee = $100 bonus for 150 rides. Old bonus structure was free rental at 75 rides no matter the car and $175 bonus at 125 rides. Now I have to complete 100 rides to get free rental with 150 rides to get a 100 bonus! Yuck!!!!


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## Lyft Standards (Feb 28, 2017)

Dang, I'd better rack up my 75 rides this week then.

So, what's the alternative of this Express Drive Program? 
Is it better now to Finance a used car/Use your own vehicle?
idk


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

I'm returning my car. The Trax is $199 in SF. It takes 36-40 hours just get 75 rides. With 100 rides they'll pay $180...doesn't even cover the rental 100%. At 150 rides....you'll be working 7 days a week. For peanuts. Because you still have to put more gas in the car to do more rides.

I spend $25 in gas for each 12 hour shift and that's with Arco fillups in Marin (e.g. $2.59 per gallon). The math was crap before but now it's not worth it at all. If I gross $200 in 12hrs, Lyft takes $50, then gas takes $25 and all that's left is $125. What's the point? With the new rates I'm making even less. F Lyft and their greed.



Lyft Standards said:


> Dang, I'd better rack up my 75 rides this week then.
> 
> So, what's the alternative of this Express Drive Program?
> Is it better now to Finance a used car/Use your own vehicle?
> idk


You are better off by just getting a real minimum wage job with predictable income, far less risk, and maybe some actual perks.

These updates to the ED program just shows you how this company is just as self serving as the other one: it was just in December where they happily announced that our rental rates was going up but would include free personal miles. Those were the days, huh?

My 16-week term expires on March 9th. Just booked my return. With this update and all of the recent rate reductions, hourly guarantee reductions, etc.,. I'm done after this week. With a ride count of 1203 and some 10,000 miles since mid-November. That's how they lose good drivers. Good luck.


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## Lyft Standards (Feb 28, 2017)

We don't even know what they actually mean with the new announcements and emails, though.
I'm going to call it a week or two to actually figure out how this all plays. Otherwise, back to the desk!


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

The only part that's not clear is how they intend to account for mileage. At which point will it be free? Or will they start charging for that too? While it was clear that the current program ($199 or free with 75 rides) included all mileage, since they now intend just to give you a cash allowance of a certain level to apply to the rental does that mean they will begin to charge for mileage again?

Lyft fully intends to meet their goal of becoming profitable by 2018. With their current business model they can only do that by taking an ever increasing cut from the drivers and that's the behavior we've seen played out in just three short months.


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

See, I understand why they are doing this. 

For example:

If 10 Express Drive drivers meet the 75 rides per week Lyft is paying Hertz, or whoever, $2000 per week. That's $8000 per month. For just 10 drivers. That's insane.

Under the new terms let's say only 5 drivers get 100+ rides. They are now only paying out $4000 per month. 

It makes business sense. We as drivers dont like it because that money is now coming out of our earnings. It sucks.


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## sfodriver (Nov 19, 2016)

Express Drive cars come from GM. GM invested $500,000,000 into Lyft and as part of that they've made these Maven vehicles available to Lyft's drivers. GM would rather rent these out this way than sell these off-lease cars at auction for less.

With the ED program, drivers are not entitled to any other bonus incentives like PDB. So, the only effective "PDB" there is for these drivers is the cost of the rental fee. That's it. Yeah, they offer hourly guarantees too but they're not made available to everyone and they too have dropped in value steadily since mid-November (when I started). For example, what used to be a guarantee of $45 for each of two hours has dropped to one hour at $30 and the another hour at $25.

When Lyft provides incentives to drivers they are effectively providing subsidies to riders, riders who are paying artificially low prices for their rides almost all of the time. As incentives decrease, the math stops working all together and drivers will abandon the platform. Case in point: me and all of the other ED drivers who are getting ready to return their cars.

Having fewer drivers makes no business sense and certainly doesn't align with their strategy.


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

sfodriver said:


> Express Drive cars come from GM. GM invested $500,000,000 into Lyft and as part of that they've made these Maven vehicles available to Lyft's drivers. GM would rather rent these out this way than sell these off-lease cars at auction for less.
> 
> With the ED program, drivers are not entitled to any other bonus incentives like PDB. So, the only effective "PDB" there is for these drivers is the cost of the rental fee. That's it. Yeah, they offer hourly guarantees too but they're not made available to everyone and they too have dropped in value steadily since mid-November (when I started). For example, what used to be a guarantee of $45 for each of two hours has dropped to one hour at $30 and the another hour at $25.
> 
> ...


While I agree that they will lose some drivers there are literally hundreds on the wait lists to participate in the program. These new drivers don't know they are getting shafted by having to do an unattainable amount if rides.

They are churning out old drivers to bring in new ones. Just so they can say, "We're growing! Look at all of the new drivers we are adding!"


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## theLEGEND (Jan 19, 2017)

Hagong said:


> It does exist. But contacting support about it might get you different answers.


Your screen shots don't make sense to me, the hours listed are supposed to be for the dates listed. If so you averaged 25 rides per hour ? How else does someone do 126 rides in a few minutes less than 5 hours. You can not physically do 25 rides in an hour period. I am not trying to troll you it's just you know, reality and all.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

theLEGEND said:


> Your screen shots don't make sense to me, the hours listed are supposed to be for the dates listed. If so you averaged 25 rides per hour ? How else does someone do 126 rides in a few minutes less than 5 hours. You can not physically do 25 rides in an hour period. I am not trying to troll you it's just you know, reality and all.


The total hours(from previous weeks)always display incorrectly in the app


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## bloodchains (Jul 1, 2015)

Here's what I got on my dashboard, though it doesn't say how much the rental cost is going to be. It's for Los Angeles.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

I returned my car and was looking again to rent but it shows now I have to pay them $150 deposit first which I will get only when I return vehicle


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

7Miles said:


> I returned my car and was looking again to rent but it shows now I have to pay them $150 deposit first which I will get only when I return vehicle


Yep. It looks like they upped the deposit fee everywhere. They really do not want us renting it seems.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

I also don't wanna drive my car either . Thousands of miles just keep adding in a very short time. 
Don't know what to do at this point. My strategy so far- drive Uber surge only .


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## Coolrider101nk (Jun 21, 2016)

I'm keeping the Lyft Hertz Express Drive that I'm grandfathered in at 70 rides but I'm also saving for a cash vehicle that'll be eligible for both services, and hopefully the higher end of both for maximum flexibility. I have no issues with Express Drive, but that's subject to change. Going into Friday and I've already got my rides and 97% acceptance. I can easily turn down what I don't want and still get guarantee and free rental.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

Coolrider101nk said:


> I'm keeping the Lyft Hertz Express Drive that I'm grandfathered in at 70 rides but I'm also saving for a cash vehicle that'll be eligible for both services, and hopefully the higher end of both for maximum flexibility. I have no issues with Express Drive, but that's subject to change. Going into Friday and I've already got my rides and 97% acceptance. I can easily turn down what I don't want and still get guarantee and free rental.


You got your rides according to new system? How many rides you got?


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## Coolrider101nk (Jun 21, 2016)

I still only need 70, but I've got 74, only worked an hour last night before I got lazy, I'll do $200+ tonight before the population exceeds 0.15 bac. Ya'll can take the drunk crybabies home.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

Can you do 100 per week ? Because new system requires 100+ for a $180 credit
What market you are in ?


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## Coolrider101nk (Jun 21, 2016)

I'm in Vegas. I could do 150 a week reliably but there are no bonuses to make it worth it.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

Then they will have 150 rides required soon probably. They switched from being nice to naughty in no time over here. Enjoy 70 rides for right now.
Btw, no grandfathering of old contract is possible. One day I had to agree to new terms or I could not log in to app.


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## Coolrider101nk (Jun 21, 2016)

Hmmm, so my 70 ride requirement as shown on my dashboard, the lack of communication to me stating they raised it to 90 and the in person confirmation that my requirement has not changed are not possible. Normally I don't participate in such strange occurances, but where do you get your fake news?


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

But that's for my market. Yours is still on an old one, that's why I am saying- enjoy your 70 rides while you still can !

As you can see now here in my market I have to pay $235 for Equinox per week. Plus additional $9.99 for damage coverage. So $245 plus rental tax of $40. Comes up to $285 per week my own money.

However if I drive 70+ rides, they give me $120 brake or if I drive 95+ rides- $180 brake on those prices. Either way, I have to pay my own money now


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## Oriolesfan50 (Dec 15, 2016)

7Miles said:


> View attachment 105734
> 
> 
> But that's for my market. Yours is still on an old one, that's why I am saying- enjoy your 70 rides while you still can !
> ...


Which market are you in?


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

ED Rental Rewards is essentially the equivalent of PDB. 

If you are a PDB driver, you would need to gross $900 to get a PDB bonus of 180.

In my market, if your going for a lot of rides, most drivers average about $9-$10 gross fare per trip.

Therefore, on average 90 rides = $900 gross, which puts the 180 bonus at about the same as what a PDB driver would get for the same amount of work/rides,

For 70 rides, it was like a 35% pdb..too good to last.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

Oriolesfan50 said:


> Which market are you in?


San Diego



beezlewaxin said:


> ED Rental Rewards is essentially the equivalent of PDB.
> 
> If you are a PDB driver, you would need to gross $900 to get a PDB bonus of 180.
> 
> ...


What is PDB ?


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## DeplorableDonald (Feb 16, 2017)

beezlewaxin said:


> For some reason the website shows total time you had a rider in the car.
> 
> Check your weekly emails for the total time you spent online in driver mode, which is the number we are interested in.
> 
> ...


So you still pay tax on the rental even if the rental is 'free'?


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## Coolrider101nk (Jun 21, 2016)

The rental is corporate billed to Lyft and Lyft pays $180 which is the base price. The tax is passed through and deducted from my Lyft earnings. The entity in business to rent the vehicle isn't doing so for free, so yes a tax applies. $35 a week is a fairly decent deal in this situation.


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## Jermin8r89 (Mar 10, 2016)

I see they are going down to jist 1 car rental. Is that just here or is that everywhere?


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## Unkar's Muffins (Mar 9, 2017)

For me ED is good (Express Drive, not erectile dysfunction).

I do not own a car. When I first started, ED was very limiting. I got charged 25¢/mile when off app. Plus, I could not use the vehicle for more than 50% mileage off app. It was limiting, but I still had access to a car 24/7. I could do groceries, laundry, pick up the wife. Now I don't have to watch my mileage anymore. Lyft CANNOT provide you a FREE car. So there are changes in fees and bonuses as they try to figure out what works and what doesn't, as time goes on, to pay riders, themselves, and GM.

Now, ED is more flexible. The mileage charge is gone. The "free rental bonus" is kind of gone, but not if I meet my soft quota of 75 rides per week. Well, of course I'm going to to get my goal every week,... I want to make money!

It takes me 25-30 hours to get 75 rides a week. I work 6 days a week, but only 3-5 hours a day. I can only work at night during the week. I can't work the commute hours (which WOULD make me more money) and I actually don't work The City every day (an annoying place to drive, even if it is very busy).


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## Red Leader (Sep 4, 2016)

Hagong said:


> Already did post SS


126 Rides in 5 hrs?

Yea......


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Red Leader said:


> 126 Rides in 5 hrs?
> 
> Yea......


Reading isn't one of your strong suits, huh?


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## Red Leader (Sep 4, 2016)

Hagong said:


> Reading isn't one of your strong suits, huh?


Yea....you go with that. It's your photoshop...err...post.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Red Leader said:


> Yea....you go with that. It's your photoshop...err...post.


Thanks for letting us know of your reading skills!


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## luvgurl22 (Jul 5, 2016)

sfodriver said:


> I've been driving with Lyft with Express Drive for the few months (over 7000 miles, over 800 trips). This is in San Francisco, a relatively compact city at only 7x7 miles. I'm driving a Chevy Trax (FWD, not AWD).
> 
> The car is great: passengers love it and it's a comfy ride with a small (1.4L turbo) engine that has plenty of torque to get up our hills and great acceleration (once the turbo kicks in). But here's the problem: MPG. The car only gets about 25mpg city. That's pretty crummy these days as a 2015 Prius doubles that. Gas is a major expense in this line of work.
> 
> ...


Gas is the only expense for express drive.Arco gas is relatively cheap.Plus they still give you a bonus if you hit a certain number of rides (though smaller than the regular ones), Apart from not qualifying for pdb I don't see why it's a bad deal


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

luvgurl22 said:


> Gas is the only expense for express drive.Arco gas is relatively cheap.Plus they still give you a bonus if you hit a certain number of rides (though smaller than the regular ones), Apart from not qualifying for pdb I don't see why it's a bad deal


Everything should be free! Free mileage, free insurance, free maintenance It's an injustice that Lyft is screwing these drivers by charging for rental! The cars they're renting out aren't good enough too! They should be renting out Cadillacs! Again, it has to be for free!


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## luvgurl22 (Jul 5, 2016)

Hagong said:


> Everything should be free! Free mileage, free insurance, free maintenance It's an injustice that Lyft is screwing these drivers by charging for rental! The cars they're renting out aren't good enough too! They should be renting out Cadillacs! Again, it has to be for free!


True, but that "world" does not exist


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## Hunter420 (May 1, 2016)

120+ rides in 4 hours?


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

sfodriver said:


> I've been driving with Lyft with Express Drive for the few months (over 7000 miles, over 800 trips). This is in San Francisco, a relatively compact city at only 7x7 miles. I'm driving a Chevy Trax (FWD, not AWD).
> 
> The car is great: passengers love it and it's a comfy ride with a small (1.4L turbo) engine that has plenty of torque to get up our hills and great acceleration (once the turbo kicks in). But here's the problem: MPG. The car only gets about 25mpg city. That's pretty crummy these days as a 2015 Prius doubles that. Gas is a major expense in this line of work.
> 
> ...


Nothing lyft does makes sense -- that's the point of a pyramid scheme/payday loan. Happy less than minimum-wage driving


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