# More reasons not to do Lyft express drive rental



## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

I know some drivers who do the rental program. They were just notified of changes to the program. The biggest change is they will decrease the per mile rate paid to rental drivers by 5 cents to 18 cents per mile. They are also increasing the cost of the rental by $10. The positive changes are lowering the insurance deductible to $1,000 and making express pay available.


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

I wonder if the $2500>$1000 deductible change is going to happen for owner operators as well.


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## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

dctcmn said:


> I wonder if the $2500>$1000 deductible change is going to happen for owner operators as well.


I'd be curious on that as well.


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## JustTreatMeFair (Nov 28, 2017)

Most people only think about insurances and deductibles when needed. Finding that there is zero personal injury coverage for the driver if there is not a passenger in the car with a ride in progress was something I missed when considering it.


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## 240BIGWINO (Jul 1, 2018)

Lyft cutting everyone’s pay for the holidays. Lyft CEO need to meet Clark Griswold and his cousin Eddie this Christmas.


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## nj2bos (Mar 18, 2018)

dctcmn said:


> I wonder if the $2500>$1000 deductible change is going to happen for owner operators as well.


 If it does happen, I guarantee the rate per mile would go down. Lyft will not pay more for our benefit without us paying for those changes. These changes make the Express Drive drivers lab rats.

If you talk to the Hertz representatives they will tell you that there is a very high shortage of cars available because the rental program is so incredibly popular, and they are losing money because many drivers are absolutely destroying the cars with mileage for both rideshare and personal use. Therefore this change is the only way they are going to profit going forward. It is the beginning of the end for the rental program.


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## IR12 (Nov 11, 2017)

240BIGWINO said:


> Lyft cutting everyone's pay for the holidays. Lyft CEO need to meet Clark Griswold and his cousin Eddie this Christmas.


Scrooge comes early this year. What a bunch of low life's.


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## SRGuy (May 17, 2016)

nj2bos said:


> If it does happen, I guarantee the rate per mile would go down. Lyft will not pay more for our benefit without us paying for those changes. These changes make the Express Drive drivers lab rats.
> 
> If you talk to the Hertz representatives they will tell you that there is a very high shortage of cars available because the rental program is so incredibly popular, and they are losing money because many drivers are absolutely destroying the cars with mileage for both rideshare and personal use. Therefore this change is the only way they are going to profit going forward. It is the beginning of the end for the rental program.


The grinders doing 60 hrs/wk are doing 2000+ miles/wk.


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

$10 increase combined with a mileage pay reduction? WTF

I hope this isn't a precursor to Lyft reducing rates for regular drivers


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

Nearly all of the rental cars offered to Lyft drivers are cars that are too old or too high mileage to be used for normal rental customers. These cars would normally go to auction and be sold at wholesale prices which are approx 50% of what a retail used car sells for.

I have a 2013 VW Passat at the moment and most of the 20+ cars I have had were 2016 and 2015 model years with >40k miles and usually in the 50-60k range.

They can make an additional $10k+ for each year that a car is used by a Lyft driver. This more than covers maintenance costs and the leaves plenty of room to absorb the occasional total loss. If the other guy's insurance is paying you can bet they are demanding a per day reimbursement for lost revenue while a car is being repaired.

They are always short on available cars but there are always plenty of cara in the lot and many of them have minor issues preventing their use. They need to improve their business processes so there are not as many cars awaiting repair.


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## 240BIGWINO (Jul 1, 2018)

SRGuy said:


> The grinders doing 60 hrs/wk are doing 2000+ miles/wk.


This is the only real way to make money with the rental. Paying for the car takes 25+ hours so if you want to have enough clock time to support any sort of income on top of that you better be requiring an oil change at every 28-day renewal.



New2This said:


> $10 increase combined with a mileage pay reduction? WTF
> 
> I hope this isn't a precursor to Lyft reducing rates for regular drivers


I'm sure their bean counters will resist the urge to pocket a couple hundred million in reduced driver payouts for merely increasing their premiums to the level of the market leader.


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

beezlewaxin said:


> Nearly all of the rental cars offered to Lyft drivers are cars that are too old or too high mileage to be used for normal rental customers. These cars would normally go to auction and be sold at wholesale prices which are approx 50% of what a retail used car sells for.
> 
> I have a 2013 VW Passat at the moment and most of the 20+ cars I have had were 2016 and 2015 model years with >40k miles and usually in the 50-60k range.
> 
> ...


---------

I have not seen that in Los Angeles. Hertz automatically pulls cars at 30,000 miles and puts them into the Lyft program.
The car I have now is 2017 with 42,533 miles -- a little high but acceptable. Back seat is huge on this car.
I do not like the increase rental fee or the decrease mileage pay but it still beats destroying my personal car.
The access to Express pay withdrawal definitely will help, something I have been requesting for 18 months.


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## 240BIGWINO (Jul 1, 2018)

KK2929 said:


> ---------
> 
> I have not seen that in Los Angeles. Hertz automatically pulls cars at 30,000 miles and puts them into the Lyft program.
> The car I have now is 2017 with 42,533 miles -- a little high but acceptable. Back seat is huge on this car.
> ...


Isn't there a $3000 car with a big backseat that could get you out of the payments for a year or two?


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

New2This said:


> $10 increase combined with a mileage pay reduction? WTF
> 
> I hope this isn't a precursor to Lyft reducing rates for regular drivers


In the insurance world, they do this to discourage us from selling a particular plan.

With Lyft, they're probably trying to make the Express Drive program less attractive, which will in time, kill it off. Companies with STRONG CEO's just terminate a money loser. Chicken CEO's take the route Lyft is taking.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

nj2bos said:


> If it does happen, I guarantee the rate per mile would go down. Lyft will not pay more for our benefit without us paying for those changes. These changes make the Express Drive drivers lab rats.
> 
> If you talk to the Hertz representatives they will tell you that there is a very high shortage of cars available because the rental program is so incredibly popular, and they are losing money because many drivers are absolutely destroying the cars with mileage for both rideshare and personal use. Therefore this change is the only way they are going to profit going forward. It is the beginning of the end for the rental program.


Algo routes extra calls to rental riders...
They do have high acceptance rate.
219 plus tax = 950 + for 28 days. You are paying 1000 plus for the car/ month. These cars worth about 10k, so they are getting 10% return per month.


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## Gtown Driver (Aug 26, 2018)

1,000 a month is just absurd. The car you could get for a 1,000 a month (although would be completely unprofitable for Uber) would be killer compared to the overly high mileage shit these rental cars give you. When I was on Xchange Leasing the car I got was already like 40,000 miles higher than the one I just bought a few months ago. I tore another 60,000 miles into it in a year and a half.

At a 1,000 a month you basically can not take days off work or you'll be cutting big into your profit. Rental cars are best for just riding the car into the ground and only taking a day off a week at most. I remember Lyft's program specifically waived the rental fee for the week if you anted it out super hard and got like 70 trips in. Which with Lyft you better move into DC because good luck getting 70 trips a week in on Lyft in the burbs. Lyft dies out way too quickly after rush hour in the burbs.


Not to mention it's getting towards winter time now where the weather is rougher on the vehicle and you can catch one bad thing of ice/black ice and put the car out of commission for a week or more with no warranty on the car. Even with now having my own personal car I'm just gonna take a break for the winter and get another job so I don't put a bunch of nasty winter miles on the car. I would only go out there during the winter again if I had a Jeep and even then.

The rental thing was good as a concept, but the mileage on the vehicles they were offering and the options kept getting slimmer and slimmer as time went on and Fuber/Gryft just don't pay enough for you to do this shit without living in your car.


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## SRGuy (May 17, 2016)

Lyft is matching uber by dropping the deductible to $1000.


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## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

A Lyft employee told me today in addition to the express drive cuts, they also cud close to $2500 in employee benefits while raising salaries for their execs


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

Rental car business - people using U/l now, instead of renting cars... then you have Turo and others getting in.
I could see U/l buying 1000's of Sentra / corolla/ Jetta that have good mpg and then paying a fixed salary to drivers .Drivers will drive these cars for 6-8 hours. It is coming. They might not speak fluent English , but they will have new cars.


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

New2This said:


> $10 increase combined with a mileage pay reduction? WTF
> 
> I hope this isn't a precursor to Lyft reducing rates for regular drivers


This program needs to go away altogether.


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

$219 /wk means you're paying $11,388 a year for a vehicle that you don't even own. 

Why would anyone do that?

I purchased a 2016 Nissan Altima with 15k miles on it for $11,900. At 1k miles a week the car would have 67,000 miles on it in a year, but it would be paid off and sold. (the private party KBB on a 3 year old altima with 67k miles is $12k-$13k) I could sell it for a profit and use the money to buy something else. 

Don't rent. Buy something cheap that meets the minimum requirements for your area instead.


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

They came for the express rental drivers and I did not speak out, because I was not an express rental driver.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

240BIGWINO said:


> Lyft cutting everyone's pay for the holidays. Lyft CEO need to meet Clark Griswold and his cousin Eddie this Christmas.


Seasons Greetings from Lyft !

DRIVE MORE FOR LESS !


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Your rate is decreasing by 5-18 cents a mile, you're not making that much a mile. 

The fact that you can express pay now is on par with what Uber has always done.

The deductible going down to $1000 is also what Uber was previously doing so they are trying to compete which is good for drivers.


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

KK2929 said:


> ---------
> 
> I have not seen that in Los Angeles. Hertz automatically pulls cars at 30,000 miles and puts them into the Lyft program.
> The car I have now is 2017 with 42,533 miles -- a little high but acceptable. Back seat is huge on this car.
> ...


what about the income tax? are rental drivers saving 20% of there income to pay back back taxes ?


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## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

uberdriverfornow said:


> Your rate is decreasing by 5-18 cents a mile, you're not making that much a mile.
> 
> The fact that you can express pay now is on par with what Uber has always done.
> 
> The deductible going down to $1000 is also what Uber was previously doing so they are trying to compete which is good for drivers.


The deductible change is the only good thing in all of this. Cutting the per mile rate per mile by 5 to 18 cents is the biggest downfall. I mean in some markets the per mile rate is already low and now it will be worse. Other bigger markets like Boston where I am may not be so bad but the rate is already too low making it lower I wouldn't even bother doing the rental but you will still have drivers out there using the rentals


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## Gtown Driver (Aug 26, 2018)

Like I said this is only good if you're going to sit in your car for 6 and a half days a week for a whole month then give the car back. Otherwise don't bother.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Ghwwe72 said:


> The deductible change is the only good thing in all of this. Cutting the per mile rate per mile by 5 to 18 cents is the biggest downfall. I mean in some markets the per mile rate is already low and now it will be worse. Other bigger markets like Boston where I am may not be so bad but the rate is already too low making it lower I wouldn't even bother doing the rental but you will still have drivers out there using the rentals


the express pay change is a plus as well


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## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

uberdriverfornow said:


> the express pay change is a plus as well


I guess but I use my own car and don't use it and no need to use it in a rental


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## Talcire (May 18, 2016)

It's not $209 a week if you complete 75 rides. They knock off $65 off that. Also, there are taxes so the current $209 is about $233, minus the Rewards program.


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## nj2bos (Mar 18, 2018)

Talcire said:


> It's not $209 a week if you complete 75 rides. They knock off $65 off that. Also, there are taxes so the current $209 is about $233, minus the Rewards program.


The rental rewards are a joke and all require a 90% acceptance rate along with a high number of peak rides, which equates to an insane amount of time wasted sitting in traffic. If you choose your rides wisely and drive at the right times, you can make much more than any rental rewards tier and by doing less rides.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

nj2bos said:


> The rental rewards are a joke and all require a 90% acceptance rate along with a high number of peak rides, which equates to an insane amount of time wasted sitting in traffic. If you choose your rides wisely and drive at the right times, you can make much more than any rental rewards tier and by doing less rides.


in the end it's best to use express drive as a way to save up enough to get your own car but it does serve a purpose for those that do not have a car


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## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

$1000 deductible? I only paid 1000 for the car that I use to drive, and that's for the whole car not every month. Way better to pay cash and stack miles onto a car that's already depreciated.

Just try not to pick up the uppity types so it doesn't crash your rating. If they don't cancel on you first when they see your econobeater in the app, you can always show up, cancel and ride off if they look disappointed walking up to your hoopty for a $3 ride. Justice served.


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## BostonTaxiDriver (Nov 23, 2014)

Jo3030 said:


> This program needs to go away altogether.


Not sure how Lyft and Hertz keep this program going, even adding three more locations in Boston last year to the original location.

Yet, Enterprise and Uber pulled the plug last year. How can Hertz and Lyft justify it all when Enterprise didn't?


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

BostonTaxiDriver said:


> Not sure how Lyft and Hertz keep this program going, even adding three more locations in Boston last year to the original location.
> 
> Yet, Enterprise and Uber pulled the plug last year. How can Hertz and Lyft justify it all when Enterprise didn't?


1. When you drive for Lyft using the rental program, you can only use the car for Lyft, so it keeps drivers driving for Lyft.

2. Uber still has a Hertz program.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

nj2bos said:


> If it does happen, I guarantee the rate per mile would go down. Lyft will not pay more for our benefit without us paying for those changes. These changes make the Express Drive drivers lab rats.
> 
> If you talk to the Hertz representatives they will tell you that there is a very high shortage of cars available because the rental program is so incredibly popular, and they are losing money because many drivers are absolutely destroying the cars with mileage for both rideshare and personal use. Therefore this change is the only way they are going to profit going forward. It is the beginning of the end for the rental program.


They put these cars in circulation with Lyft intending to never see or use them again. At $219/wk, that's over $11,000 a year. Those cars are paid off in less than 2 years. 


uberdriverfornow said:


> The fact that CBBC can express pay now is on par with what Uber has always done.


 actually Uber used to not allow their renters to use instant pay. I know because I kept losing instant pay. Their reasoning was, my vehicle is financed. Come to find out, Uber's term Finance specifically meant any financing done through them. 


kingcorey321 said:


> what about the income tax? are rental drivers saving 20% of there income to pay back back taxes ?


 rental drivers get to claim any lease payments they actually make. So unfortunately for them, it's financially better if they do make some payments


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

Talcire said:


> It's not $209 a week if you complete 75 rides. They knock off $65 off that. Also, there are taxes so the current $209 is about $233, minus the Rewards program.


Taxes here in Las Vegas for the rental program are 25.25%. This means *$208.99 plus taxes is $261.33*. (It's not exactly 25.25% but pretty close)

Also Lyft has *never* reduced the price of the rental if you give enough rides.

They give you a bonus. That's all it is.

Express Drive renters are not the only Lyft drivers that get a bonus based on how many rides you give. If you used your own car you would be getting a similar bonus.

If you still think Lyft reduces the cost of the rental think of it like this..

If you owned your car would it be reasonable to claim that Lyft lowers your monthly car payment for that month if you give enough rides each week?



Spoiler: Another way to see what Lyft is doing



Another way to see what Lyft is doing when they make that claim. Maybe your spouse comments on how large of a monthly payment that is and asks if rideshare income will be sufficient to cover it.

You might try and convince her it is reasonable by claiming that it's not actually that large of a payment because Lyft reduces it if you give enough rides each week.


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

jaxbeachrides said:


> $1000 deductible? I only paid 1000 for the car that I use to drive, and that's for the whole car not every month. Way better to pay cash and stack miles onto a car that's already depreciated.
> 
> Just try not to pick up the uppity types so it doesn't crash your rating. If they don't cancel on you first when they see your econobeater in the app, you can always show up, cancel and ride off if they look disappointed walking up to your hoopty for a $3 ride. Justice served.


My car isn't even worth $1500 and I have no problem giving uppity people rides and it doesn't crash my rating. $70 pleather seat covers, keeping the car clean and driving safely will get the job done. That's all 99% of the pax are looking for and it's more than 100% of them deserve.

People wanna get mad at new drivers for giving water and snacks and setting the wrong expectations-- and rightfully so. However, the people driving LyftX with newer. nicer vehicles for 60-70 cents per mile set wrong expectations, too. For the rates that pax are paying, they should be getting picked up in 20 year old junkers, not 2016 Rav4's.


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

nj2bos said:


> The rental rewards are a joke and all require a 90% acceptance rate along with a high number of peak rides, which equates to an insane amount of time wasted sitting in traffic. If you choose your rides wisely and drive at the right times, you can make much more than any rental rewards tier and by doing less rides.


---------
Peak rides have not been required for over a month. Don't think that peak rides is being used at all at this time, whether renting or not.



beezlewaxin said:


> Taxes here in Las Vegas for the rental program are 25.25%. This means *$208.99 plus taxes is $261.33*. (It's not exactly 25.25% but pretty close)
> 
> Also Lyft has *never* reduced the price of the rental if you give enough rides.
> 
> ...


-----------
It does not matter what label you put on it -- bonus or Rental Rewards. The "Reward" goes toward the car rental fee only. It is not given to you as cash in your earnings. Accounting protocol. Same pair of pants but a different pocket.


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## nj2bos (Mar 18, 2018)

KK2929 said:


> ---------
> Peak rides have not been required for over a month. Don't think that peak rides is being used at all at this time, whether renting or not.


Must be market-dependent. The Boston market currently still requires 90% AR, peak ride, and total ride requirements as of today.


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## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

BostonTaxiDriver said:


> Not sure how Lyft and Hertz keep this program going, even adding three more locations in Boston last year to the original location.
> 
> Yet, Enterprise and Uber pulled the plug last year. How can Hertz and Lyft justify it all when Enterprise didn't?


Lyft has Flexdrive in Boston for rentals as well as Hertz.

Hertz uses crap cars that they would normally pull out of use but now use those for rideshare.

Flexdrive is out of the NTB in Weymouth. They are brand new cars generally 2018 Chevy Malibu's but vehicle availability is very limited it seems.


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## Lpcrooks (Dec 2, 2017)

Express Drive is 297 / week if you don't have a compact car rental, plus at least $100 in gas per week so that's $400 per week, $1,600 per month it makes no Financial sense.

Lyft/hertz had to raise the rental fees and lower your mileage rates because too many people are totaling or damaging these cars and Lyft drivers are not paying the $2,500 deductible because they are poor, not to mention the upkeep in terms of new tires and maintenance.


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## BostonTaxiDriver (Nov 23, 2014)

Ghwwe72 said:


> Lyft has Flexdrive in Boston for rentals as well as Hertz.
> 
> Hertz uses crap cars that they would normally pull out of use but now use those for rideshare.
> 
> Flexdrive is out of the NTB in Weymouth. They are brand new cars generally 2018 Chevy Malibu's but vehicle availability is very limited it seems.


Hmmmm...yes, I noticed that FlexDrive occasionally appeared on the app when I checked availability over recent months, but haven't seen it at all in awhile. I guess you're correct that it's hard to rent those cars. Don't know anything about them as the app doesn't seem to disclose any difference, just that it's in Weymouth. Didn't know those cars are newer and more desirable.

As I've said before, I was generally pleased with my two different Hertz cars in 2016, as well as the Enterprise car and three different MavenGig cars earlier this year.

At least there's availability most days, even a day before, for the ExpressDrive cars at the Boston area locations. No need to wait a week or more at times as it often was when I first rented in February 2016.


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## Fisfis (Oct 17, 2014)

240BIGWINO said:


> Isn't there a $3000 car with a big backseat that could get you out of the payments for a year or two?


Well how are those people who have to pay $1000 just for the car gonna get the 3k ever together??

Even if they did, it would be a pos. At least express drive lets you drive newer model cars that riders and drivers like.


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## Ghwwe72 (Sep 23, 2016)

BostonTaxiDriver said:


> Hmmmm...yes, I noticed that FlexDrive occasionally appeared on the app when I checked availability over recent months, but haven't seen it at all in awhile. I guess you're correct that it's hard to rent those cars. Don't know anything about them as the app doesn't seem to disclose any difference, just that it's in Weymouth. Didn't know those cars are newer and more desirable.
> 
> As I've said before, I was generally pleased with my two different Hertz cars in 2016, as well as the Enterprise car and three different MavenGig cars earlier this year.
> 
> At least there's availability most days, even a day before, for the ExpressDrive cars at the Boston area locations. No need to wait a week or more at times as it often was when I first rented in February 2016.


Yes Flexdrive is basically 2018 Chevy Malibu's with like 100 miles on them to start. I think they are limited on the fleet from what I heard the next batch will be December or January.

The vehicles are the only difference as everything else is structured the same.

I wonder if the availability will change with the rate change per mile for the rental drivers. I can imagine there will be some who return the cars with this change.


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## Hunter420 (May 1, 2016)

Fozzie said:


> $219 /wk means you're paying $11,388 a year for a vehicle that you don't even own.
> 
> Why would anyone do that?
> 
> ...





Fozzie said:


> $219 /wk means you're paying $11,388 a year for a vehicle that you don't even own.
> 
> Why would anyone do that?
> 
> ...


This program destroys lives, the rental car I drove fan belt broke, and they didn't even replace the car, instead they left me stranded 2 hours out of town, took 20% of my deposite back- they bottle necked my rides, I had to work 12 hours a day 6 days a week just to make the rental and gas, and hardly any profits as time went on- they have people making driving so difficult to reach your bonus, cherry picking your rides, lots of bullying by dispatch, harassment, long pick ups, and they would even mess with the cars, anything to increase profits and exasperate drivers..
and after years of driving they just made my life insolvent. I lost my apartment, it was entrapment, that only got less and less as time went on, now they put me so far behind, I'm at a shelter, on foodstamps and been trying to get out of this hole lyft put me in.


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

Hunter's still alive!


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## nj2bos (Mar 18, 2018)

Hunter420 said:


> This program destroys lives, the rental car I drove fan belt broke, and they didn't even replace the car, instead they left me stranded 2 hours out of town, took 20% of my deposite back- they bottle necked my rides, I had to work 12 hours a day 6 days a week just to make the rental and gas, and hardly any profits as time went on- they have people making driving so difficult to reach your bonus, cherry picking your rides, lots of bullying by dispatch, harassment, long pick ups, and they would even mess with the cars, anything to increase profits and exasperate drivers..
> and after years of driving they just made my life insolvent. I lost my apartment, it was entrapment, that only got less and less as time went on, now they put me so far behind, I'm at a shelter, on foodstamps and been trying to get out of this hole lyft put me in.


I don't know man, that's impossible. Lyft only offers rental car in its busiest markets, and there is no way it took 72hrs to break even on your rental fee and gas. The weekly rental fee is $240-250 with taxes and fees, plus say three tank of gas at $30 per. That is about $330. So over 72hrs, you only made $4.58/hr consistently?

The Express Drive program is meant for full-time drivers only, or people without cars who need a vehicle temporarily but can't finance for whatever reason and will do Lyft rides essentially to pay for the car.

Express Drive drivers aren't given any special or longer pings/pickups than drivers in their own cars. The program is expensive but keep in mind it includes:

Unlimited mileage for Lyft and personal use
All maintenance and fluid changes
Collision and liability insurance
Loss/damage waiver for acts of nature

It's not profitable for Hertz to operate that way for under the price they charge given that most Express Drive cars are driven 5,000-8,000mi per month.


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

It's a horrible deal. 

If you work 40 hrs a week making $20 /hr net, you're talking $800, -$220 for the car, leaving you with a new income of $580 for 40 hrs. You're officially making less than the starting wage at McDonalds.

Use your own car or get a cheap car and run it into the ground.


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## LyftinAintEasy (Jan 3, 2019)

I had to sign up just to reply to this thread. I'm not here to really defend Lyft but the program isn't as bad as you people make it if you drive full time. I usually always hit the mark to get the full rental reward, which basically puts me at $200-250 a month for a vehicle with insurance and maintenance included. No wear on my personal vehicle and you can drive the vehicle for personal use. I don't know how much the markets vary but its not hard to make $200 a day in Atlanta if you do 8-10 hours. I'm definitely not as efficient as I could be so there are drivers who probably do more, maybe not . Then again maybe I'm just lucky and it's bad for the majority but the only issue I've had is the peak hours and at least in my market that and acceptance rate is about to go away. Could it be cheaper? Could you find a better deal? Of course but it isn't a totally bad option for some people.


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## Lpcrooks (Dec 2, 2017)

LyftinAintEasy said:


> I had to sign up just to reply to this thread. I'm not here to really defend Lyft but the program isn't as bad as you people make it if you drive full time. I usually always hit the mark to get the full rental reward, which basically puts me at $200-250 a month for a vehicle with insurance and maintenance included. No wear on my personal vehicle and you can drive the vehicle for personal use. I don't know how much the markets vary but its not hard to make $200 a day in Atlanta if you do 8-10 hours. I'm definitely not as efficient as I could be so there are drivers who probably do more, maybe not . Then again maybe I'm just lucky and it's bad for the majority but the only issue I've had is the peak hours and at least in my market that and acceptance rate is about to go away. Could it be cheaper? Could you find a better deal? Of course but it isn't a totally bad option for some people.


You're not paying $200 per month for Express Drive. Come on. Most people are paying 239 base rate per week plus massive amount of taxes plus you're not factoring in the cost of gas that it takes to drive for 50 to 60 hours a week to get your rental rewards reimbursement.


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## Hunter420 (May 1, 2016)

I loved lyft when you didn't even have to pay your rental if you just did 20 rides a week. you didn't have to take your car in for 6 months, you got big surges, and bonuses, and made 300 dollars a day!! and they didn't dispatch rides, stupid algorithms! Companies too greedy now, I lost so much from them, the sudden changes and entrapment killed me. they left me stranded 3 hours out of town, after my fan belt broke, and took my bonus, wouldn't give me a rental back! talk about unethical!! im sure the sociopaths on here know! hello sociopaths!!!


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## Gtown Driver (Aug 26, 2018)

Lpcrooks said:


> You're not paying $200 per month for Express Drive. Come on. Most people are paying 239 base rate per week plus massive amount of taxes plus you're not factoring in the cost of gas that it takes to drive for 50 to 60 hours a week to get your rental rewards reimbursement.


I believe what he's saying is that since he's able to make the rental goal he effectively gets his rental fee waived every week. Which is technically doable in busy markets, but I believe you have to do like 75 or more rides a week to get that goal. Which means you have to ant it up pretty hard. If your market is that busy with short rides you can probably get it done feasibly, but there's definitely some markets where there is no way you're going to get it done without basically not seeing your house or just not getting enough fares.

With my rental program it was only 140 a week, but the rideshare insurance I was offering was getting pretty high and the car was already rather high mileage so it eventually started to not be worth it running the car into the ground and then taking it back into the shop without warranty for shit often enough.

I do agree overall that in most scenarios there's no way you can come out as clean as this guy says he is. I won't completely doubt that he's able to do as well as he is with the rental, but in a lot of markets you'd have to basically live in your car and that's going to wear the car any way.


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## LyftinAintEasy (Jan 3, 2019)

Ok, I did forget the taxes. So $245-185 is 60. So $240-300 a month. The gas would be the same either way for me as I drive full time. Which is currently $150 a week for 5 days of driving .I usually make about 940 a week if I don't goof off and Chase women on the weekend or if it isn't a slow period. So $790 a week after gas, $3160-3950 a month. Oh and another $60 off for my monthly unlimited car wash membership. Not bad at all in my opinion but maybe you guys make more at your real jobs. Driving full time, 8-10 hours sometimes more on the slower days isn't bad for me. I am probably one of the rare people who actually love to drive and I'm single with 1 kid so I don't have the responsibility some may have.

Unfortunately I have been under the weather since early December so I haven't been driving full time and have been getting by writing and producing music but this was my last week I cut short because of being ill.










I'm in the Atlanta market. As you can see getting rides isn't a problem. That Tuesday I stopped early to go to a jiu jitsu practice and I stopped early on Sunday because I cleared my $200 goal and I wasn't feeling well near the end. We have to do 95 rides to get the $185 rental reward but my daily ride goal of 20 rides is easy to get here. I will admit the 40 peak rides and 90% acceptance rates stops me from earning more but I checked my app and here in Atlanta both of those are going away on Jan 7th so I should be able to clear more a day now going back to overnight where there are longer rides if the total ride minimum doesn't go up. At worst if the ride minimum goes up I will make the same amount and be able to drive the times I want to and be able to cancel more rides.

Mind you I started driving last Jan and I'm not aware of the benefits that were taken away before I started besides hotspots and more prime times which did make the work hours shorter.

With all this said I am planning on getting my own vehicle so I can do xl but without express drive I probably wouldn't have been able to save the money I wanted to this quick.

I just wanted to bring a different point of view because all the post I saw made express drive seem like working at Nathan's for minimum wage (which I did at 18) and being depressed.


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## METRO3 (Sep 3, 2017)

I'm sorry but to rent a car to do this is dumb and to do it with uber or lyft rental is stupid as shit. Ur already making nothing so now u want to make even less? The best way is to use a car u have already paid for.



LyftinAintEasy said:


> Ok, I did forget the taxes. So $245-185 is 60. So $240-300 a month. The gas would be the same either way for me as I drive full time. Which is currently $150 a week for 5 days of driving .I usually make about 940 a week if I don't goof off and Chase women on the weekend or if it isn't a slow period. So $790 a week after gas, $3160-3950 a month. Oh and another $60 off for my monthly unlimited car wash membership. Not bad at all in my opinion but maybe you guys make more at your real jobs. Driving full time, 8-10 hours sometimes more on the slower days isn't bad for me. I am probably one of the rare people who actually love to drive and I'm single with 1 kid so I don't have the responsibility some may have.
> 
> Unfortunately I have been under the weather since early December so I haven't been driving full time and have been getting by writing and producing music but this was my last week I cut short because of being ill.
> 
> ...


Damn I wish we had that kind of demand in Toronto


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## LyftinAintEasy (Jan 3, 2019)

METRO3 said:


> I'm sorry but to rent a car to do this is dumb and to do it with uber or lyft rental is stupid as shit. Ur already making nothing so now u want to make even less? The best way is to use a car u have already paid for.


Are you going to give data or real info or just blow wind? I honestly feel like some of you are just lazy and want to hear yourself talk. What are your numbers? What market? Show and prove mane .


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## METRO3 (Sep 3, 2017)

LyftinAintEasy said:


> Are you going to give data or real info or just blow wind? I honestly feel like some of you are just lazy and want to hear yourself talk. What are your numbers? What market? Show and prove mane .


What? Less expenses more money in your pocket. Is that not obvious? If u already have a car that's paid off u have less expenses than someone who rents or has financing or lease payments. So confused why do I need data to show something so obvious


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## LyftinAintEasy (Jan 3, 2019)

METRO3 said:


> What? Less expenses more money in your pocket. Is that not obvious? If u already have a car that's paid off u have less expenses than someone who rents or has financing or lease payments. So confused why do I need data to show something so obvious


It's not obvious if you just talk and don't show proof. Anybody can say anything, people lie. Show your Lyft hours and pay versus what I make and we will see what's the truth. If not you're just talking to talk. Also depending on your car, upkeep and return on value you could make more or less so don't make it seem like it's just cut and dry.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

jaxbeachrides said:


> $1000 deductible? I only paid 1000 for the car that I use to drive, and that's for the whole car not every month. Way better to pay cash and stack miles onto a car that's already depreciated.
> 
> Just try not to pick up the uppity types so it doesn't crash your rating. If they don't cancel on you first when they see your econobeater in the app, you can always show up, cancel and ride off if they look disappointed walking up to your hoopty for a $3 ride. Justice served.


My area allows up to a 15 year old car for x so looking for a 2005 or 6 Corolla to abuse for a year or two is the way to go!


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## 2Cents (Jul 18, 2016)

mbd said:


> Rental car business - people using U/l now, instead of renting cars... then you have Turo and others getting in.
> I could see U/l buying 1000's of Sentra / corolla/ Jetta that have good mpg and then paying a fixed salary to drivers .Drivers will drive these cars for 6-8 hours. It is coming. They might not speak fluent English , but they will have new cars.


What planet are you on?
I realize that NASA just clocked a billion miles to Pluto so that explains a lot here...


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

METRO3 said:


> What? Less expenses more money in your pocket. Is that not obvious? If u already have a car that's paid off u have less expenses than someone who rents or has financing or lease payments. So confused why do I need data to show something so obvious


How many people start doing this job with a paid off car?


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

LyftinAintEasy said:


> Ok, I did forget the taxes. So $245-185 is 60. So $240-300 a month. The gas would be the same either way for me as I drive full time. Which is currently $150 a week for 5 days of driving .I usually make about 940 a week if I don't goof off and Chase women on the weekend or if it isn't a slow period. So $790 a week after gas, $3160-3950 a month. Oh and another $60 off for my monthly unlimited car wash membership. Not bad at all in my opinion but maybe you guys make more at your real jobs. Driving full time, 8-10 hours sometimes more on the slower days isn't bad for me. I am probably one of the rare people who actually love to drive and I'm single with 1 kid so I don't have the responsibility some may have.
> 
> Unfortunately I have been under the weather since early December so I haven't been driving full time and have been getting by writing and producing music but this was my last week I cut short because of being ill.
> 
> ...


________________________
Sorry, but you keep stating that you are paying $240 PER MONTH. There are no monthly rentals. The rental fee is a weekly fee. Taxes added to the rental fee are only about $30/week. New calculations needed. Your reasons and approach are sound and it is, also, no ones business but yours. 
Some of these people who use their own cars are making $250 dollars more per week than you are and are still unhappy. They will really be unhappy when their current car has to be replaced.
I rent because I do not want to trash my personal car. Therefore, I am willing to drive an extra 12 hours per week to pay for the rental car. It is expensive, yes. But it is what it is. Logical, maybe not but it is my decision to make and no ones business but mine. I live 20 miles from any active ride share area, meaning that I have put several miles on my car before I get my first ping.
Again - no ones business but mine.


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## LyftinAintEasy (Jan 3, 2019)

The weekly fee after taxes is $245. In my area we get $185 off a week if we hit 95 rides. So 60 a week. Which is 240-300 a month. Taking into account maintenance and insurance is included this is nowhere near as bad as some people are making it seem. Unless you're not full time or you're in a slow area. Like you said, some people will complain no matter what.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

I don't rent but the drivers that I've talked to, who do rent, their out-of-pocket expense is $60 a week here too. Assuming they get the max payout or credit. So $240 a month.


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## Lpcrooks (Dec 2, 2017)

250 for 11 rides is more than double the average, show a weekly payout after the rental costs


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## LyftinAintEasy (Jan 3, 2019)

Lpcrooks said:


> 250 for 11 rides is more than double the average, show a weekly payout after the rental costs


Of course that's not average but making $200 a day in my market is if you drive full time. You can see just from what I put up another day I had to do 28 rides. That was just a lucky day of constant airport rides. There's no reason to show it, that's something you can verify easy on your own. Any Atlanta express driver can verify what I've said as far as the charges. I could have made $800 doing 1 ride, the rental fees and rewards will stay the same regardless as long as I get the 95 rides.


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## Gorilla Lyfter (Dec 15, 2019)

Man I dont if everyone commenting on here is crazy or if I am just a Superman and I don't realize it. I work 3 days a week in Boston approximately 10 hours a day and I am pulling about $1,200 a week. That is an under 40 hours. I think some people think that they just going to hop in a car and do a couple of rides and make ends meet. You have to hustle and be willing to put in the hours if you want to make money doing this


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

Gorilla Lyfter said:


> Man I dont if everyone commenting on here is crazy or if I am just a Superman and I don't realize it. I work 3 days a week in Boston approximately 10 hours a day and I am pulling about $1,200 a week. That is an under 40 hours. I think some people think that they just going to hop in a car and do a couple of rides and make ends meet. You have to hustle and be willing to put in the hours if you want to make money doing this


When did you start driving Lyft?


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

Gorilla Lyfter said:


> Man I dont if everyone commenting on here is crazy or if I am just a Superman and I don't realize it. I work 3 days a week in Boston approximately 10 hours a day and I am pulling about $1,200 a week. That is an under 40 hours. I think some people think that they just going to hop in a car and do a couple of rides and make ends meet. You have to hustle and be willing to put in the hours if you want to make money doing this


I have the same question as @Jo3030 and also what levels do you run? Do you Uber too?


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## Gorilla Lyfter (Dec 15, 2019)

Just Lyft and I've been on for about 4 months. I do everything I can to stay in the bonus zones. Those ride bonuses add up fast. Here's a screen shot of my week so far. Somewhat slow week but just so u know I'm not bullsh*tting...


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

Okay so 4 months.
You are still in the honeymoon phase.
You are being sent all the juicy nice rides.
Give it some time.


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## Gorilla Lyfter (Dec 15, 2019)

Jo3030 said:


> Okay so 4 months.
> You are still in the honeymoon phase.
> You are being sent all the juicy nice rides.
> Give it some time.


Lol. That's funny. But I can say say the juiciness has been over for almost 2 months. I definitely noticed the difference when they stopped forwarding me the sweet rides.


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

Gorilla Lyfter said:


> Lol. That's funny. But I can say say the juiciness has been over for almost 2 months. I definitely noticed the difference when they stopped forwarding me the sweet rides.


Oh no, you are still in honeymoon phase.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

Gorilla Lyfter said:


> Lol. That's funny. But I can say say the juiciness has been over for almost 2 months. I definitely noticed the difference when they stopped forwarding me the sweet rides.


No those were not considered the "juiciness".. those were in fact unicorns that you will never ever see again . You have just entered the juiciness stage. These are the rides they will throw at you randomly to try to reel you back in after you quit driving or cut back on your driving hours. these will become your handsome Rewards LOL do you not talk to any veteran drivers in your Market? Or do you talk to them but just like every other new driver, you somehow think you're the exception? You're not . Listen to what the vet drivers tell you&#128521;


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

Gorilla Lyfter said:


> Man I dont if everyone commenting on here is crazy or if I am just a Superman and I don't realize it. I work 3 days a week in Boston approximately 10 hours a day and I am pulling about $1,200 a week. That is an under 40 hours. I think some people think that they just going to hop in a car and do a couple of rides and make ends meet. You have to hustle and be willing to put in the hours if you want to make money doing this


If 30 hours for $1200 is "hustling", I must be crazy for putting in 40 hours for $450.



Gorilla Lyfter said:


> Just Lyft and I've been on for about 4 months. I do everything I can to stay in the bonus zones. Those ride bonuses add up fast. Here's a screen shot of my week so far. Somewhat slow week but just so u know I'm not bullsh*tting...


LOL...your goal was $999 for the week?

Does setting a goal cause Lyft to send you more rides? I always thought that was just a gimmick that Lyft implemented to "show how much we care about our valued drivers".


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