So far, Lyft driver pay has been good. It has been reported that the average hourly earnings for a Lyft driver range from $15 – $18. Under 8 hours, it can accumulate to $120 – $144. Driving for 30 hours a week, a Lyft driver would be making about $450 – $540 excluding taxes or any other expenses. Lyft pays drivers weekly and directly to the bank account that they provided during signup. And payments are usually made on Tuesdays. Although there are days when drivers get their payments between Wednesdays to Fridays.
Driving for Lyft is flexible. You are your independent contractor and control your working hours or days. The more hours you put into working for Lyft, the more money you make.
Things that influence a Lyft driver’s pay
Before a Lyft driver is paid, certain factors contribute to payments. Those factors are time, distance, tips, and bonuses.
Time
As a driver, your pay per trip is influenced by how much time you are spending per trip. This means that if you are spending more time than estimated on a rider, you will be paid for excess time. Your earnings will also be influenced by your city’s per-minute earning rate.
Distance
You are also paid according to your city’s per-mile rate. This means that you are paid for each mile you drive on a trip.
Tips
Tips also constitute how much a driver earns at the end of the week. Customers can tip a driver for a friendly service, clean car, entertainment, etc. Drivers own 100 percent of the tips and do not share them with Lyft.
Bonuses
Drivers earn bonuses when they are at the busiest of places and at the busiest times. Bonuses can appear when there is a high demand for drivers in a particular location and time. Those places are called bonus zones. Bonus zones are often signified in purple and pink. Sometimes bonuses appear at the beginning of the week.
You can also earn bonuses from doing ride streaks (which often occur during holidays), ride challenges, and earning guarantees.
Earn smartly with Lyft
Lyft provides a smart way for drivers to plan their schedules and earn money smartly. This helps drivers know where the busiest places are and when are the busiest times to drive. With this feature, drivers can save time, cost, and energy on the streets with no rider’s requests.
Lyft offers in-app tools and features that predict rider’s demand in a location and at a particular time in the day. Using the real-time demand map, drivers can get on the road at a particular time to places in the city where there is a prediction of high rider demand drivers. This can boost a driver’s income significantly.
Lyft Rewards
When it is the busiest, Lyft also rewards drivers for their service with points. With enough accumulated points, drivers can have access to certain features like the ability to see trip details and destination mode, discounted or free 24/7 auto service assistance from Openbay, and Allstate roadside assistance. Plus, access to any new perks as they are launched.
As you drive and make trips in busy zones, you are rewarded with points. The number of points you accumulate will determine your tier, what perks you will have access to, and boost your driving score.
There are 3 rewards tiers: silver, gold, and platinum. To reach silver, you will need to have a driving score of 60%. For gold and platinum, you need a driving score of 80% and above.
How much does an LYFT Driver make?
A Lyft driver makes around $15 – $18 per hour. Payments can also be influenced by customer tips and rewards. A Lyft driver can also make around $52,595 at the end of the year.
What is the Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for LYFT Driver Jobs?
According to the data that have been collected from many sources, San Mateo, CA($66,588), Green River, WY($62,886), Richmond, CA($62,047), Stamford, CT($61,324), Bellevue, WA($60,969), Brooklyn, NY($60,704), Belgrade, MT($60,245), Santa Clara, CA($59,852), New Haven, CT($59,309), Brockton, MA($59,124) are the top 10 highest paying cities for Lyft drivers ranked according to how much drivers can earn in a year.
How much does a Lyft Driver in the United States make?
According to estimates, a Lyft driver in the United States can make between $35,993 – $50,411 in a year. In a month, we can be looking at a $1,800 – $2,160 per month.
How does payment work with Lyft?
If you are a rider, you can pay in-app. The Lyft app offers different payment options to choose from. You can also add more than one payment option.
For drivers, time, distance, tips, and bonuses influence how much you can earn. Payments are usually processed automatically and paid directly to your bank every Tuesday. You can also track payments in the app.
Conclusion
The Lyft driver pay is structured in an easy way that drivers can earn more money. Lyft has also introduced a way drivers can use their earnings instantly. Introducing Lyft Direct, drivers can transfer funds to a Lyft debit card instantly and use it to purchase items.
With the Lyft debit card, drivers can get cash backs on purchases, get no card maintenance fees, save to reach goals, and more. If you don’t like the idea of that, you can always wait to have your payments wired to your bank account every Tuesday.
