Earnings commitment
Lyft's earnings commitment guarantees that a driver's weekly earnings will be at least 70% of passenger payments after external fees. If a driver's earnings are below 70% when the week ends, they’ll get paid an earnings adjustment to make up the difference. Earnings Commitment is available nationwide in the US.
Using the Earnings Commitment tracker, you can track the earnings commitment as soon as you give your first ride of the week. To track the earnings commitment:
- Go to your earnings in the Driver app.
- Tap 'See weekly breakdown.'
- Tap the earnings commitment banner at the bottom of the weekly breakdown.
The Earnings Commitment tracker will display passenger payments after external fees, your earnings, and the estimated Lyft fee. These amounts will continue to be updated following each ride you give throughout the week.
For more information about passenger payments, external fees, and Lyft fees, see the 'What is Lyft’s Earnings Commitment' section below.
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What is Lyft's Earnings Commitment?
On a weekly basis, drivers will earn 70% or more of passenger payments after external fees are deducted. This is the minimum drivers should expect to earn.
- Passenger payments is the amount passengers pay for their ride. Passenger payments go toward more than just driver earnings and Lyft's fees; they also cover external fees, including commercial auto insurance coverage and taxes.
- External fees include commercial auto insurance coverage, taxes, government fees, and other expenses such as payment processing fees.
- Lyft’s fee is the amount retained by Lyft and is used to maintain the platform. Part of Lyft's fee is invested in drivers and app improvements that improve their experience with Lyft.
- Eligible earnings for the earnings commitment include base ride earnings and bonuses. Tips, benefits, and pass-throughs are not included in the earnings commitment.
Note: To learn more about external fees, see the 'External Fees' section below.
Why is the earnings commitment 70%?
After receiving feedback from drivers, Lyft set the 70% earnings minimum. After external fees are deducted from passenger payments, the driver's share is at least 70% each week.
Note: Drivers will always receive 100% of tips, adjustments, benefits, and tolls, as they aren't subject to external fees or Lyft's fee.
Earnings adjustments
When will I receive my adjustment?
The Lyft week runs from Monday to the following Monday at 5 AM. If by the end of the Lyft week, you haven't earned at least 70% of passenger payments after external fees, the Earnings Commitment Tracker will display your final earnings percentage for the week and the date you can expect to receive an earnings commitment adjustment.
Will I ever receive an extra adjustment?
You may receive an additional adjustment due to the distribution of certain expenses, like insurance costs, which take longer to finalize.
If it applies to you, an extra adjustment will appear in your earnings tab.
External fees
What are the types of external fees?
- Airport fees: fees imposed by airports for picking up and/or dropping off passengers.
- Commercial auto insurance & other risk-related costs: commercial auto insurance coverage as required by law, plus additional risk-related costs for most accidents that occur while driving passengers. These coverages are in addition to your personal insurance requirements, which typically do not cover accidents while you’re driving with Lyft.
- Data processing fees: fees charged by third parties to host and operate the Lyft platform including the Rider and Driver apps.
- Payment processing fees: fees charged by third parties to process or facilitate passenger payments.
- Sales tax: tax applied in accordance with state and local law
- Government fees: fees imposed by state, provincial and local governments for using rideshare services. For example, congestion fees.
- Ancillary insurance fees: Express Drive insurance fees that provide auto physical damage and liability coverage for the rental vehicle.
- Service and maintenance fees (Rentals Only): fees charged by service providers for routine service and maintenance of an Express Drive vehicle.
How are external fees calculated?
External fees may vary because the types of rides you provide vary.
For example, insurance and other expenses are based on internally forecasted data and are finalized at the end of each quarter. They're calculated for your online time, when you're online waiting for rides, and are also distributed to each ride you give, according to the number of miles driven, region, ride type, rental status, and/or passenger payment.
General earnings questions
Does this impact the schedule on which I'm paid?
This will not impact your pay schedule.