# After 10 Months: Lyft's Announcements Mean Nothing For Income.



## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

That's conclusion I've come to, after driving for Lyft, about 5 hours a day, since November 2015 in the Chicago area.

Lyft is a master at communications and spin, but 90% of what they say, or announce, has no real substance.

For instance, today, I get a pop-up on my Lyft app that says "GET PAID TO STOP". It then goes on to explain that we'll get paid, if the passenger adds a way-point (extra stop) in route to their ultimate destination. This "announcement" means nothing, because we already get paid if the passenger wants to deviate from the designated route to stop at the liquor store, or something. This is one of the many communications from Lyft to Driver, designed to make us feel good about how Lyft is looking out for us, without adding income.

The major update to the Lyft application 2 months ago was similar. The announcement was "spun" to make it seem like Lyft made some significant improvements, but in fact, all Lyft did was split a 2-function app, into a 3-function app.

There's also the Destination Filter. Lyft made is sound like a gift from heaven, but the darn thing rarely works!

I could go on and on, but I'd like to know if the rest of you who have been driving for a number of months feel this same way...or, am I being too pessimistic? Perhaps I'm just disappointed and insulted, that Lyft silently takes things away from us (like seeing the destination in advance), but announces with great fanfare, some new function or feature that means absolutely nothing in the area that truly matters... *our income*.


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Lyft is the socialist company we can believe in.


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## yucklyftline (Mar 23, 2016)

Don't make the mistake I did and be loyal to just one company. Neither one of these, or any future tnc company, will look out for your best interest. 

Not disclosing PT is the biggest slap in the face to drivers. You move the pin 1 mm and you just went from 100% to absolutely nada. Lyft has no concept that if you make a driver unavailable, you have just affected demand in all the outlying areas also. Ubers gradiated surge makes so much sense and shows they understand the concept that if you take driver A out of area A to passenger B, passenger A will have to wait longer now that passenger B has occupied driver A. Not only does wait times for passenger A in the PT area suffer, but they are also paying a higher premium for a lesser product (extended pickup time).

Concerning the stops, don't let the pax leave items in your car, essentially anchoring you at their will. Let them know if they aren't out in 2 min, they may find themselves requesting another ride. I don't often wait 5 min for them to get in my car, what makes them think they can just go pick up dry cleaning, or pickup a package, order food, or stop at the liquor store when chances are they won't be the first person in line. 

I'm impatient and call immediately if I don't see them. If you've ever used lyft as a pax, you'd know that the app isn't always accurate to notify the pax about the drivers status. I don't waste my life waiting on a cancel fee. The name of the game is round count in my market, and you don't maximize time by sitting around empty.

I did lyft only my first 4 months. Lyft does nothing to benefit the driver that uber can't do, which is not much at all.


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## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

Come on Lyft executives, you are insulting your drivers with the spin on "add a stop". We lose money sitting and you know it. SMH. WTH.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

macchiato said:


> Lyft is the socialist company we can believe in.


To be fair, Lyft's CEO holds drivers in higher esteem that Uber's CEO (Travis Kalanick), in my opinion. A CEO who tells his contracted drivers that they don't deserve to be TIPPED, is a callous individual.


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Only reason I say this is because the way the Lyft platform connects drivers to pax. Even if you're the closest driver, you don't get the request. If you've been online longer without pings you get priority.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

macchiato said:


> Only reason I say this is because the way the Lyft platform connects drivers to pax. Even if you're the closest driver, you don't get the request. If you've been online longer without pings you get priority.


Wouldn't being assigned rides in a "socialist" fashion mean that the drivers with the best rating, and best acceptance rate, get first dibs on ride-requests?


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

I would think a socialistic way of assigning rides would be that everyone gets an equal size of the "ridership pie."


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

Not telling people how much their PRIME TIME / SURGE rates are when they accept the ping is an insult.


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

I've said it many times before. It's the only contracted job I've ever had where I don't know the rates before accepting the job. They don't tell us where the job ends (took out destination before arrival..it actually should be before we accept the fare to be honest).

They will continue to do this until we stop driving for their platform.


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## Sharkb8 (Jun 30, 2016)

AllenChicago said:


> To be fair, Lyft's CEO holds drivers in higher esteem that Uber's CEO (Travis Kalanick), in my opinion. A CEO who tells his contracted drivers that they don't deserve to be TIPPED, is a callous individual.


Agreed, he is callous....But, your original post explains why Uber is the winner & Lyft won't even be 2nd best when a 3rd player like Juno & Google comes to town.

Lyft won't let us take PLUS only fares & the "Destination" feature only works on Lyft "LINE"! The new "Scheduled Rides" excludes PLUS.... HOW STUPID! If I cancel on a minor or anybody, it lowers my acceptance rate, etc.....I thought Lyft would be the winner by now but nooo, Lyft is the obvious LOSER!


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

Lyft doesn't want to win.
It just wants to be bought out.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

October 20, 2016

What do you all think of the latest, greatest Lyft app update that was pushed out this week for Android? When in Online Driver mode, it now covers 2 inches at the bottom of the screen with info on your Power Driver status, # of rides given, and fare earned today. 

Personally, it's a big annoyance. I'd prefer to look up the PDB status/number of rides / Fare earned, by clicking on "settings", as always. 

We have those 2 inches stolen from the bottom of your display.. and 1 to 2 inches stolen from the top by the "Online" icon, and any Prime Time notification that happens to be there. 

Lyft always rolls these things out and gloats that they're doing this and that for Drivers...because "we asked for it". For those of you who have this update, what do you think?


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

This latest Lyft update for Android has also disabled the "switch back to driver's app". After I reach the destination, I get a Google Navigation pop-up telling me that I've arrived and giving statistics for drive time, and some other worthless stuff. This screen is somehow preventing the auto-switch-back to the Lyft app, so I can Confirm dropping off the passenger. I have to manually switch to the Lyft app to do that now.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

AllenChicago said:


> Wouldn't being assigned rides in a "socialist" fashion mean that the drivers with the best rating, and best acceptance rate, get first dibs on ride-requests?


No, that's the survival-of-the-fittest capitalist way. The socialist way would be that the minority disabled PTSD lesbian driver gets the ping.


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## Sure (Apr 10, 2016)

I use Waze, they have a button on the app that will send me back to the Lyft app.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

November 22, 2016

Now ONE YEAR and 685 rides as a part-time Lyft Driver. For the Chicago area, I'm seeing...

1. Lyft is flooding the streets with drivers. Decreasing our individual income potential.

2. Lyft is forcing more rides per hour (2 or 3), in order to get a meager [email protected] guarantee.

3. Lyft Destination Filter is pretty much like a baby-pacifier now. It did deliver 1 ride when it first came out, some 8 months ago. Not a damn chirp from it since, and I use it 5 out of 7 days.

4. Is less inclined to give honest straight-forward answers to questions. In fact, they've totally ignored by last question..wanting to know exactly how Driver-Passenger pairing is made.

5. Lyft sends out weekly GOOD NEWS newsletters that praise and highlight deserving Lyft drivers around the country. But at the same time are SCREWING them an us, with these cuts in pay. 

What's worse... Lyft's compensation system, or Uber's? Every time I mentally consider also Driving for Uber, I hear the Uber President saying that Uber Drivers aren't worth being tipped. Now, I'm starting to get the feeling that Lyft's CEO is viewing us as non-people too.


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## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Same company, different skin.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

macchiato said:


> Only reason I say this is because the way the Lyft platform connects drivers to pax. Even if you're the closest driver, you don't get the request. If you've been online longer without pings you get priority.


Which is BAD in dense areas, gotta logoff often or you'll get Glendale pings from Ktown


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Btw, most things do NOT play out by their own rules:

1) free cancels on stacked pings? Nope.... Or "yes, when you write in to complain"

2) DF works, but NOT at all how it was described

3) stealth attempt to allow Premier drivers to circumvent their own stated compliance to 14-hr-online limits for Select-style always-on logons ---- actually something I specifically DEMANDED in multiple feedback emails --- instead just mostly breaks counters for Lyft incentives.... And they wont even admit that's what happened


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

macchiato said:


> Same company, different skin.


Yeah. Like a pig trying to fool people by changing its lipstick. Still the same damn pig.


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