Post by Morreion on Jan 8, 2015 15:17:58 GMT -5
Lyft says its drivers can make $35 an hour. I spent a week driving to see if that’s true. (Vox)
I wound up working 50 hours, earning almost $600 in fares. And I actually made a lot more than that. Lyft paid me $1,500 (which I'll be donating to DC Central Kitchen) under a program that guaranteed drivers would make $30 per hour if they worked 50 hours. In other words, Lyft paid me more than $2 for every dollar in revenue I generated for them.
That absurdly generous compensation, funded by millions in venture capital, is part of Lyft's strategy to expand its roster of drivers in order to better compete with Uber. Obviously, these deals can't last, and my experience left me skeptical that drivers will be able to make anywhere close to $30 per hour without them.
Yet that might not matter. When I talked to other drivers, they told me that they appreciated the flexibility of driving for Lyft. Full-time Lyft drivers can set their own hours and adjust when they drive to fit other things happening in their lives. And for those who don't want to drive full-time, Lyft is a way for anyone with a car and a few hours of spare time to supplement their income. That may draw in drivers even if earnings aren't very high.
An analysis of this:
Uber and Lyft Won't Kill Your Car (Megan McArdle)
I wound up working 50 hours, earning almost $600 in fares. And I actually made a lot more than that. Lyft paid me $1,500 (which I'll be donating to DC Central Kitchen) under a program that guaranteed drivers would make $30 per hour if they worked 50 hours. In other words, Lyft paid me more than $2 for every dollar in revenue I generated for them.
That absurdly generous compensation, funded by millions in venture capital, is part of Lyft's strategy to expand its roster of drivers in order to better compete with Uber. Obviously, these deals can't last, and my experience left me skeptical that drivers will be able to make anywhere close to $30 per hour without them.
Yet that might not matter. When I talked to other drivers, they told me that they appreciated the flexibility of driving for Lyft. Full-time Lyft drivers can set their own hours and adjust when they drive to fit other things happening in their lives. And for those who don't want to drive full-time, Lyft is a way for anyone with a car and a few hours of spare time to supplement their income. That may draw in drivers even if earnings aren't very high.
An analysis of this:
Uber and Lyft Won't Kill Your Car (Megan McArdle)
