Update of Current Rideshare Bonuses – Uber, Lyft and Sidecar
There have been a few changes in the last two weeks on signup bonuses for Uber, Lyft and Sidecar.
- Lyft ended most of their new driver signup bonuses
- Uber extended their Lyft New Driver signup bonuses
- Sidecar doubled their new driver signup bonuses.
Many of these promotions started over the summer and now have ran their course. Here are the changes to the programs:
Lyft Signup Bonus
They have ended most of their new driver signup bonuses, including the $500 referral bonus for Uber drivers and their $1500 a week guarantee for drivers over 50 hours a week. I spoke to a Lyft representative about it and they said that the initial bonuses got them on the road during the first month but then the number of Lyfts the new drivers gave would decline after the one month period. I told them that the payouts of these bonuses were poorly managed and did not seem professional enough for the full time drivers they were targeting with this promotion. Some drivers noted that they did not get their $1500 a week guarantee during the first week, but they were eventually awarded the bonuses a few weeks late, especially for the drivers who started on the first week of the promotion.
Uber New Driver Signup Bonus
They have just updated their $500 bonus for Lyft drivers signing up as a new driver on Uber who gave at least 5 Lyfts as of 11/1. I have a lot of people sign up already on this promotion. You can check out the complete details in this post.
For existing drivers, take a look at your email. In some markets, they were giving out incentives for drivers to be online at a certain time during the week, usually Friday and Saturday nights, ranging from $20 an hour to up to $40 an hour for Halloween weekend. These incentives varies by market and sometimes they don’t offer them at all in some cities. Uber tends to pay them out, despite the payout in the next paycheck being off for some drivers. Just email your local Uber office and they usually fix it, but note that it can take up to two weeks for it to get settled.
Sidecar New Driver Signup Bonus
They doubled their new driver signup bonus to $100 after 10 trips. Their old new driver sign up bonus of $50 after 10 trips on Sidecar ran since June. From some of the drivers I spoke with, there was no time limit for those 10 trips and many have been paid out on time after 10 trips. It is unclear if there is a time limit for the 10 trips for the $100 bonus, but I would say it is 30 days if there is a limit.
Hopefully Lyft will bring back some of the signup bonuses. Uber and Sidecar have renewed theirs in order to get even more drivers on their platform at the same time as Lyft is pulling back their signup incentive. It could be a sign that Lyft doesn’t have the free cash to get more drivers, as discussed in this previous post questioning if Lyft is going bankrupt. I’m concerned that Lyft will lose a lot of ground during the time Uber and Sidecar have one of their most generous signup bonuses to date.
Have more questions about Uber or Lyft? Head on over to our Rideshare Driver Training Course! Driver Promotions- New Uber Drivers will get up to a $800 bonus after signing up: Sign up for Uber.
- New Lyft Drivers will get up to $800 if you sign up here using this link.
