The Driver’s Guide to Pay
Pay basics
How pay works, when and where to drive, and earnings breakdowns.
Earning smarter
Finding ride demand, getting bonuses, and maximizing earnings.
Making more
Instant pay, savings on driving costs, and cash bonuses.
PAY BASICS
How your pay works
You get paid for the time and distance of a trip. Plus, you keep all of your tips and bonuses. Learn how pay works, see when and where to drive, and get a breakdown of your recent earnings.
Time
You get paid for each minute of every trip, based on your per-minute rate. Per-minute rates vary by city. You can always find your per-minute rate in your rate card.
Distance
You get paid for each mile of every trip, based on your per-mile rate. Per-mile rates vary by city. You can always find your per-mile rate in your rate card.
Tips
When passengers tip you for superior service or a clean car, you keep 100% of those earnings. Always.
Bonuses
Bonuses become available when more passengers need rides. You’re more likely to earn bonuses during busy times and in busy locations. See bonuses and busy hours in your app.
Learn more: Understanding Your Pay
See how time, distance, tips, and bonuses all add up to what you’re paid. Take the tutorial.
Learn more: When & Where to Drive
Get tips on when and where to drive from other drivers. Take the tutorial.
Your earnings breakdown
See what you made, including ride earnings, tips, and bonuses in your Lyft Driver app.
DRIVING SMARTER
How to earn more with in-app tools
Rush hour and New Year’s Eve may provide more opportunity than other times of day or slower times of the year. The Lyft Driver app can help you find the best times and places to drive.
Real-time demand maps
If there are lots of passengers who need rides in your city, you’ll see hot spots on the map on your home screen. Just drive toward these high-demand areas to get ride requests.
Demand forecasts
See when people are most likely to need rides in your city. Demand forecasts show you a graph of the busiest hours of each day. And, you can check out anticipated demand for the entire week.
Opportunities this week
With bonus details, local event info, and recommended driving times, your app shows you what you need to plan your week — and make even more.
MAKING MORE
How to get paid and increase earnings
Instant access to earnings, cash for driving during busy hours, and savings on driving-related costs may all be available in your city. And, we’re currently building even more ways to save you more.
Lyft Direct
Get paid instantly after every ride and get cash back on gas, groceries, and select dining. Just your earnings and cash back, right in your wallet — no transfer fees, no waiting periods. Learn more.
Get paid instantly
You’ll get instant access to your earnings on a debit card, with a secure bank account from Stride Bank.
Cash back on gas everywhere
Earn up to 5% cash back at any gas station you choose, based on your Lyft Rewards driver status.
Groceries and more
Earn cash back on groceries and select dining with your Lyft Direct debit card.
Vehicle services
Save time and money with quality, low-cost vehicle services. Lyft Driver Centers, Lyft Mobile Service, and our Openbay partnership were all built to keep you on the road and earning. Learn more.
Lyft Driver Centers
We’re building Driver Centers around the country where you can save time and money on vehicle services, and get driver support, too.
Lyft Mobile Service
We’re launching Mobile Service in more cities to bring car services directly to you.
Lyft and Openbay
We’ve partnered with Openbay so drivers all over the country can get access to car maintenance and service.
Lyft Rewards
Get cash bonuses, gas savings, cell phone bill savings, and more with Lyft Rewards. Earn points by driving during Lyft’s busy hours and providing exceptional service. Learn more.
Cash bonuses
Gold and Platinum drivers get cash bonuses for driving during busy hours. Silver drivers and above can get ride credit.
Big gas savings
Silver drivers get 2% cash back on gas anywhere. Gold drivers get 4% cash back on gas anywhere. And Platinum drivers get 5% back.
AT&T savings
Save on your cell phone bill with monthly AT&T bill credits, available to Lyft Rewards Platinum drivers.
Questions? We’ve got answers.
Earning with Lyft
How is my pay calculated?
What do ‘base rate’ and ‘minimum rate’ mean in my ‘rate card’?
When are bonuses offered?
Getting paid
When do I get paid?
Why does my pay fluctuate?
Earning more
What’s the best strategy to earn more?
*Lyft Rewards, Lyft Driver Centers, and Lyft Direct debit card are not available everywhere.