# Can a lyft mentor or driver verify something my mentor said?



## LAsouthpaw (Oct 24, 2015)

I was told that once we are activated as drivers, we can drive anywhere lyft is active. 

For instance, I'm signed up to drive in Los Angeles, but if I go to Vegas or San Diego or Houston or wherever, I can accept rides there and make money while I'm there. 

Is this true? He swore it was. I asked twice to verify. If it's true, that's great because I'd love to be able to go visit family for a week or two and be able to work when we aren't actively hanging out. 

Anyone? Bueller?


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

Wrong. You need to sign up in the market you drive. Both Uber and Lyft has each individual market set up, in many ways, like individual franchises.


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## Hustlehard (Nov 2, 2015)

Might be 60% true. I drive in Philly and was able to sign on and accept requests when I was in Tampa a few weeks ago. This may not be true in larger markets such as NYC, though.


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## drivinindc (Aug 23, 2015)

The way it was explained to me is that you are eligible to drive anywhere, but you may need to send them a note requesting activation/transfer/whatever -- you may not necessarily be able to just show up and get pings.


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## LAsouthpaw (Oct 24, 2015)

So in other words, no one is sure. 

I'll try contacting support and see if I can get a straight answer. 

Thanks anyway.


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## JuanMoreTime (Jan 25, 2015)

LAsouthpaw said:


> So in other words, no one is sure.
> 
> I'll try contacting support and see if I can get a straight answer.
> 
> Thanks anyway.


Certain states and individual cities have special qualifications. For instance, to drive in California or Nevada, you must have plates and a license from that state. Not all states have that restriction, however. So basically, we can drive anywhere in California, and if we are in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, or any number of other nearby states *with the exception of Nevada*, we can turn on the app and make some cash there.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

The answer you get from Lyft will be that they discourage it and you should only drive in your home market. However, the app will work in any Lyft area. I recently took a road trip and the app worked in RI, CT, PA, VA, DC, NJ, and NC. There is a driver planning on driving cross country and Lyfting along the way (www.lyftingamerica.com), with full knowledge of Lyft.

Things to be careful about: local guidelines and laws regarding drive for hire, pax transport, and TNC licensing. So if you're only planning on driving one additional area, research rideshare in that area specifically beforehand.

Uber sometimes has partnered markets like Boston/Providence, but outside that situation you cannot turn the app on elsewhere.


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## melxjr (Sep 10, 2015)

LAsouthpaw said:


> I was told that once we are activated as drivers, we can drive anywhere lyft is active.
> 
> For instance, I'm signed up to drive in Los Angeles, but if I go to Vegas or San Diego or Houston or wherever, I can accept rides there and make money while I'm there.
> 
> ...


The answer to this is FALSE, let me explain. You may drive anywhere where you're legal to drive and Lyft service is offered in your STATE. To drive in another state, first you must obtain a drivers license through the new state and verify it then through Lyft.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

melxjr said:


> The answer to this is FALSE, let me explain. You may drive anywhere where you're legal to drive and Lyft service is offered in your STATE. To drive in another state, first you must obtain a drivers license through the new state and verify it then through Lyft.


And did you my post? Because my experience and the link i provided prove contrary to your statement.


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## Steve Joseph (Oct 21, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> And did you my post? Because my experience and the link i provided prove contrary to your statement.


Your previous posts does not -

1. State whether it was actually legal for you to have accepted rides in any of the states the app worked in. Both LYFT and UBER will prompt you to drive in different states but it doesn't mean it's legal.
2. *Since everyone uses the same app for hailing a ride or driving OF COURSE the app works across all of America.*
3. The link you provided simply states the intention of that driver but there is zero links or breakdown on that page(blog) or the gofundme page to indicate this is an experienced LYFT driver who knows the rules inside and out and should be doing what they're attempting to do. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that if an individual can start a gofundme for the reasons this person has they most probably don't. It also appears to me like this person wants to take a road trip on other peoples dime but I'm not going to push the obviousness of this point.
*
You cannot drive in multiple cities with LYFT or UBER.* Why would the process for LYFT be any different than UBER and why are the below links valid?

1. Your background check will not have been for other cities, just where you applied to be a UBER driver for example - https://help.uber.com/h/6f4d25ec-b408-4305-9d0d-5e3b9cdd1e12
2. https://www.lyft.com/drive/help/article/1695469 - *why are there different city and state requirements if you can LYFT anywhere in America you want?*
3. https://drivers.lyft.com/customer/portal/articles/1486383-driving-in-different-cities - read that language carefully. *The answer is still NO.*
4. https://www.lyft.com/drive/help/article/1518485 - *why does this page exist and state what it does if you can drive in any state?*

There are some people on this board I've noticed giving reckless, uninformed and in many cases dangerous advice that's going to land someone in serious trouble. Please stop to consider your actions and the repercussions.


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## Steve Joseph (Oct 21, 2015)

LAsouthpaw said:


> I was told that once we are activated as drivers, we can drive anywhere lyft is active.
> 
> For instance, I'm signed up to drive in Los Angeles, but if I go to Vegas or San Diego or Houston or wherever, I can accept rides there and make money while I'm there.
> 
> ...


See my other comment with supplied links directly from LYFT and UBER. I'm pretty certain your mentor is greatly misinformed.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

Steve Joseph said:


> Your previous posts does not -
> 
> 1. State whether it was actually legal for you to have accepted rides in any of the states the app worked in. Both LYFT and UBER will prompt you to drive in different states but it doesn't mean it's legal.
> 2. *Since everyone uses the same app for hailing a ride or driving OF COURSE the app works across all of America.*
> ...


1) I never said whether it was legal or not. I did point out localities may have their own guidelines and restrictions and to research the area you want to drive in.

2) This is the 2nd time said driver has used Lyft across america, assuming she still does through with this trip.

3) I said Lyft discourages it. Uber forbids it. When turning the Uber Driver app on in any market outside Boston/Providence, I get the "your vehicle is not authorized to operate in this state" message. With Lyft driver mode works perfectly fine. So the answer is: If you're not violating local laws, go ahead.

4) Your background check is national and down to the county level. It still applies if you move out of state.


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## Steve Joseph (Oct 21, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> 1) I never said whether it was legal or not. I did point out localities may have their own guidelines and restrictions and to research the area you want to drive in.
> 
> 2) This is the 2nd time said driver has used Lyft across america, assuming she still does through with this trip.
> 
> ...


Okay. So the overall answer is don't do it. Are you sure about n0.4? It seems like that might be correct and one would just need to worry about local laws, state registration and state license. From one of the links provided it would appear some states take this pretty seriously.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

It would again depend on the locality. Overwhelming majority of markets don't have regulation regarding rideshare and not all that do have regulation require additional or different background checks than others. For instance, here in Boston there are no regulations. But they have 4 bills proposed and each has differenr ideas about background checks. Some are fingerprint/FBI, some are the traditional checks through the vendor Uber/Lyft uses.

The important thing to take away is how you view your business. Too many people view rideshare as employment. It isn't. You run your business and Uber/Lyft are your client. It isn't up to your client to tell you whether you can legally do something or not. It is on you. Do your own due dilligence and research each area you wish to do business in. Lyft won't prevent you from driving in a market unless there are specific requiremenrs such as TNC license which you don't have.


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## Steve Joseph (Oct 21, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> It would again depend on the locality. Overwhelming majority of markets don't have regulation regarding rideshare and not all that do have regulation require additional or different background checks than others. For instance, here in Boston there are no regulations. But they have 4 bills proposed and each has differenr ideas about background checks. Some are fingerprint/FBI, some are the traditional checks through the vendor Uber/Lyft uses.
> 
> The important thing to take away is how you view your business. Too many people view rideshare as employment. It isn't. You run your business and Uber/Lyft are your client. It isn't up to your client to tell you whether you can legally do something or not. It is on you. Do your own due dilligence and research each area you wish to do business in. Lyft won't prevent you from driving in a market unless there are specific requiremenrs such as TNC license which you don't have.


Excellent points and response, especially your point about how some people view employment and what ridesharing is. It's definitely not something I do full time or even part time nor did I ever personally see it as anywhere near traditional employment but different people will have different opinions on that. Whether that opinion is correct or not is another post for another time. Thanks and have a great weekend.


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## IanC421 (Oct 31, 2015)

apparently not, not in Washington DC at least...https://uberpeople.net/threads/aler...c-maryland-tags-to-operate.43059/#post-568619


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## k_instinct28 (Oct 31, 2015)

I'm from NY and I pick up and drop off in NJ all the time with no problems.


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