Lyft Comes Back to Relevance in 2015
Lyft have been losing a bit of ground lately to Uber because of Uber’s constant promotions and driver incentives to steal both new users and drivers away from Lyft. Now that Uber released a number of promotions of their own, now Lyft is making a few moves in 2015 to get them back on track for growth. This coincides with their new round of fundraising, as reported by New York Times and Business Insider.
I believe that the below initiatives will get more drivers and more users on Lyft, which can in turn improve driver income.
Pioneer Program makes a Comeback
Lyft is bringing back the Pioneer program in a few cities:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Denver
- New York City (10 free rides at $5 each)
- Philadelphia (20 free rides at $20 each)
- Washington DC
Otherwise noted, the offer for new users is 10 Free rides at $20 each, which is really good. If you sign up with this link, you can get an additional $20 credit towards another free ride on top of the pioneer credits: Sign up as a Lyft Passenger
You can read more about the Pioneer Program here.
The Pioneer Program should do very well to increase demand for the above cities and help boost driver income. Even though the users don’t pay anything for the rides, the drivers gets paid the full amount of the trip. I’ve seen this program spur demand in a new city or existing cities so make sure to try driving for Lyft again in the above cities.
Guaranteed Prime Time
I seen this offer in Boston so I am not sure if this applies to other cities. (If it does, make sure to comment!) They are guaranteeing 25% PT for our morning commute (8-9am) and then just Saturday Night (12-3am). This isn’t something that will be very lucrative for many drivers, but its definitely a good bonus. However, during these times, there is often PT anyway. Lyft is hoping to get more drivers on the road during these peak times in order to meet demand and reduce PT.
Double Passenger Referral Bonuses
I heard about this just before the end of the year, but it took a few weeks before it was official. For a limited time, Lyft is doubling passenger referral bonuses to $10 for drivers. So for every passenger a driver refers, they get $10 instead of $5. I know a few drivers have been giving out referral cards again hoping to cash in on this bonus. This is a great way to spur demand on Lyft and increase driver earnings at the same time! I know a few drivers who did very well the last time Lyft offered $10 for every new user that signed up with their code.
If you are interested in giving out referral cards, check out my video on how to do just that to increase your income without driving:
New Driver Signup Bonuses
This is limited to only a few cities I know of. Boston and Chicago has a double sided referral bonus of $200. I am not sure if this bonus applies to more cities but I am only willing to guess it applies to only a few more, possibly some if not all of the cities that have the Pioneer Program (as seen above).
If you are in Boston and Chicago and would like to get $200 for signing up for Lyft, you can use this signup form to get a bonus (for new applicants only): Lyft Referral Signup [Note, you will need to complete your mentor session by 2/9 to qualify for the bonus.]
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.
