A Lyft passenger’s post that was removed from Reddit‘s r/mildlyinfuriating sub touches on a recurring trend of social media posts being uploaded by several both drivers and patrons of the popular ride-sharing application, which highlights a glaring disparity in the amount of money that passengers are being charged versus what the application is earning for their cut in facilitating these rides.
Reddit user Karim Chaoui (@karimchaoui) wrote the post “How much I got charged vs how much the Lyft drivers gets,” and revealed in a caption that the application takes around a 70% cut of the fare, leaving the person actually doing the work, with their own vehicle, with a significantly lower amount of money.
“I got charged $48.76 and the driver got $18,” they wrote in an archived post of the now-removed post the Daily Dot acquired via Wayback Machine.
Chaoui isn’t the only person to highlight Lyft’s pricing and payout structures. Another redditor posted to the site’s r/lyftdrivers sub, writing, “I didn’t realize how little the driver get from the fare paid. Passenger showed me her phone, she paid $47 prior to tip. Lyft paid me $16.”
One commenter who said they were a driver for Lyft, replied to this post remarked that it’s because of these relatively high costs for fares that many riders don’t leave tips for Lyft contracted employees. The user wrote, “Yup. This is a major reason why I think a lot of pax don’t tip. They figure they’re paying $50 for a ride, we’re probably getting a significant portion of that. When they find out that we average about $1 per mile, most passengers are really surprised. It’s also why it’s essential with Lyft to try to get the bonuses in whatever way possible. It’s the only way it makes economical sense. And it can be the difference between a $500 day or a $100 day. But that’s providing they actually give you attainable bonuses to achieve,” they said.
Another Reddit post seems to corroborate the percentages Lyft drivers receive from their fares. “Do you know Lyft takes 70% of your ride fare( the actual amount the riders pay). This is outrageous,” they penned.
But it does seem like the percentage cuts are contingent upon the rides and/or the availability of drivers willing to transport passengers at any given time. Another r/lyftdrivers post uploaded by an outraged driver saw them lambasting the application for taking 48% of their ride fare.
It seems that all of the ire geared towards Lyft has influenced the application to amend its policies. Fox Business reported in February that Lyft released a statement indicating it would ensure its drivers were receiving at least 70% of their total fares after taxes and fees. “As part of its 2024 release, the ride-share company announced on Tuesday that its new standard ensures drivers will earn a minimum of 70% of rider fares each week after external fees, such as local taxes and government-mandated insurance, get taken out,” reads the report.
Fox went on to say that in 2023, 15 out of 100 Lyft drivers received less than 70% of the total fare passengers were charged. Tons of other commenters who replied to Chaoui’s post, too, said that they’ve experienced similar payouts with their own transactions. “I took a lyft to my bestfriends apartment for a Halloween party. They charged me about $38 the guy told me he got $12,” one wrote.
And then there were those who criticized ride-sharing applications for forcing drivers to maintain their own vehicles and front the most essential costs for the service. “If you went with a regular taxi, the taxi company would pay for the car expenses and the driver would have a proper commercial license, and the company would have proper insurance. Uber and Lyft are scammy companies that cut corners in ways that harm both drivers and customers,” one person said.
But then there were those who said that there’s a reason why apps like Uber and Lyft were able to become so popular in such a short amount of time. “As much as I hate Uber and Lyft, if I’d called a regular taxi they’d tell me they’re on the way but never actually show up. Regular taxis have their own problems. It’s the whole reason that Lyft and Uber were able to take over the market so quickly,” wrote one user.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lyft via email and Chaoui via Reddit DM for further information.