Rate Cuts Coming Soon!
It should not come as a surprise as both Uber and Lyft keep trying to find ways to pay drivers less and less, but it still hurts every time.
Some Background: In Las Vegas they are getting a new feature, “Get Paid From Pickup Time”, which pays you from the time you pick up a ride, until you drop off. While this sounds great, it comes at a cost – Lower per mile rates.
It is interesting to note that the new rates for regular drivers are what Express Drivers (XD) were being paid prior to this rate change!
In other words, because there were still a lot of Lyft Express Drivers willing to work for 44 cents a mile, Lyft figures why not regular drivers?
The New XD rates in Las Vegas are as follows:
Express drivers: I get it, you need the money, but are you really willing to work for 24 cents a mile? For me, 44 cents was mind blowing that anyone would drive that low, yet I see more Lyft Express Drivers on the road than ever before. If it does get down this low in Houston, please do turn your cars in. Find something else, because you are only going to go in debt at 24 cents a mile. You are seriously better off getting a minimum wage job.
Las Vegas Drivers: Please do not work for these new rates. It will come to the rest of the country if you do. Don’t screw us over, please.
Back to the new feature:
Yes, it sounds great. We get paid for every mile we go and pick up. This would of been awesome if the rates stayed the same as before, but they don’t. You may or may not notice a huge difference per ride, but over time it will add up. For us, that may take a thousand rides to really notice the difference, but for Lyft, they see an increase in profits instantly, since they have drivers doing hundreds of thousands of rides a day.
Lyft will try to frame it as a way we are making more money, but every rate cut, I have seen myself being forced to work more, complete more rides in order to make the same amount of money as before. Riders on the other hand, pay the same as before, so they are unaware of us getting paid less per ride.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of them making “new features”. They just need to pay us more.
Here is the full explanation of the new feature “Get Paid for pickup time” :
This will kill the drivers who live off of long rides like airport runs and special events. If you’re driving five miles to the PAX and then giving a five mile ride, the grand total will still be in the same ball park as before. But if you’re parked in the airport lot and only drive 2 miles for a 30 mile run to the suburbs, you’re going to really feel the difference.
Exactly! Very well said.