A Lyft driver shows what they see on their side of the ride-share app before deciding to pick up a rider. However, some riders say they plan to boycott the service after realizing it shows how often they tip.
Can Lyft drivers see how often riders tip?
In a post on r/EndTipping, a user posts a screenshot of the driver's side of the Lyft app. At the bottom, it notes that the rider tips "88% of rides" and is "usually ready at pick-up."
According to Bloomberg, Lyft recently launched the feature, which can help drivers decide which riders they will pick up. However, the feature is currently being tested with a handful of drivers and isn't available to everyone.
While the new feature is still rolling out, drivers using apps like Uber and Lyft can see how much a rider added as a tip for individual rides they accept, according to drivers on Reddit.
What do Lyft riders think of the feature?
Upon seeing the screenshot, the group of Redditors who are already enraged by the pervasiveness of tipping culture share their frustration.
"Tipping is optional, and Lyft has the audacity to treat it like it's a fee with a minimum? That's wild. Haven't ridden with either ride share platform in a few years, but this [expletive] is insane to me," one writes.
"My buddy last week was trying to order one, and it took sooo much longer than the last time that we thought he was just too drunk to order it. Maybe the drivers were denying him because his tip percent was too low," another says.
"Done with Lyft, I guess," a third remarks.
"WTH. Guess Lyft is trying hard to lose business," snarks another.
Some suspect that the feature will cause rides to become more expensive.
"Yeah, it will fail. Guess what happens when a driver doesn’t decide to accept your ride?? The algorithm keeps bouncing the ride until it finds a match. Lyft still needs our revenue- so 99% of the time it will increase the pay rate in the hopes of finding a driver match," a commenter suggests.
"Looks like a way to squeeze extra money out of customers without having to 'raise prices.' Rider tips, much like tips in a restaurant, cut what the company has to pay the driver," another writes.
"Sounds like a good reason to not use Lyft," another laments.
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