Using VoiceOver in iOS to request a ride
This is a guide to taking a Lyft ride using VoiceOver in iOS. This guide will take you through requesting, scheduling, and completing a ride. You will need a Lyft account to begin. If you need assistance creating an account, read our article Using VoiceOver in iOS to create an account or log back in.
If you're experiencing issues with VoiceOver after the iOS14 update that introduced Screen Recognition, the feature can be turned off for the Lyft app.
To turn off Screen Recognition, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > VoiceOver Recognition > Screen Recognition. At the bottom of this screen, there is an Apply To Apps button; double-tap this to open up a list of apps and make sure that the Lyft app is not selected. Screen Recognition also appears as a Rotor Option when using an app, which you can use to turn it on or off.
Use one of those methods to turn Screen Recognition off, then move a finger around on the screen to focus VoiceOver on anything on the screen to fix the experience, or close Lyft from the Application Switcher and restart the app.
Jump to:
Taking a ride
Setting your destination
You can request a ride from the app home screen. VoiceOver will be automatically focused on a 'Where to?' button on this screen.
Double-tapping 'Where to?' will open the Destination search screen. The Destination text field will be activated and the keyboard will appear at the bottom of the screen. After entering an address, an address search list will appear under the text field. Navigate this list with VoiceOver and listen for your correct address. Once you find it, double-tap to select it and Lyft will move you to the Ride Options screen.
Swiping right from the 'Where to?' button will bring you to Shortcut destination options. You can fill out Home and Work addresses to quickly select them, and as you take more rides, more common addresses will appear in a list underneath these shortcuts.
Double tapping on any of the entries in the list will select it as your destination and move you on to the Ride Options screen.
Swiping left from the 'Where to?' button will navigate VoiceOver up the screen where you will find banners and promo announcements, along with the Menu button.
Selecting your ride type
This screen will allow you to choose the type of ride you want. Each ride type is listed with its name, how many seats are in the car, an estimated price, and an estimated time of arrival at your destination.
Read more about our Ride Types in our Lyft Ride Type overview.
You will hear VoiceOver say 'Mode Selection screen' with navigation hints.
Navigating up from here will bring you to the Lyft Trip Bar, a fast and quick way to check out your destination address, your pickup location, any stops in between, and the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the nearest driver.
Navigating down will bring you down through the list of available ride types. Ride types are subject to availability in your region. At the end of the Ride Options list, you'll find the Schedule ride feature, Payment method, and the 'Select ride' button.
Double-tapping on any of these ride types will move the VoiceOver cursor to a button at the bottom of the screen asking you to confirm the ride type. Pressing this button will advance you to the Pickup location confirmation screen.
Scheduling a ride in advance
If you do not need a ride immediately, you can schedule one up to thirty days in advance. You can find the 'Schedule ride' button by navigating to the very bottom of the Ride options screen and then swiping left once.
Here you will be able to set up your pickup address, your destination, and a stop along the way if desired.
Navigating down from the address fields will bring you to Date and Time pickers. Focus on each and swipe vertically to adjust the pickers until you choose the exact date and time for when you'd like to order your ride.
Double-tap 'Set Pickup Time' at the bottom of the screen to move on to the next screen.
Navigate VoiceOver through this screen to confirm all the details of your scheduled ride. You'll be able to edit addresses, pick up times, or payment methods by double-tapping 'Edit scheduled ride.'
Double-tap the 'Schedule' button at the bottom of the screen to complete your scheduled ride request.
After scheduling your ride, you will be returned to the Home screen. The scheduled ride will appear above the 'Where to?' button. When VoiceOver focuses on the scheduled ride you can hear the ride details. Double-tap the scheduled ride in the Home Screen to edit or delete it if desired.
Payment method
The Payment Method button appears near the bottom of the screen just under the list of Ride Types. You can get to this quickly by tapping once with four fingers near the bottom of your phone screen, and then swiping left twice.
This button will announce the card brand and the last four digits of the selected payment method. Double-tapping this button will open the Payment Method screen where you will be able to choose which card you would like to use for the ride, plus switch between Personal and Business payment accounts.
After you've requested your ride and your driver is on the way, you can change your payment method under trip information, or after the ride is completed on the 'Rate and pay' screen.
Pickup confirmation and notes for the driver
This screen allows you to make sure we are picking you up from the correct location, or allows you to choose another location for pickup.
VoiceOver will land on a button that has the address of the location address closest to you. Tap this button to open up the Pickup text field and enter an address if the pickup address needs to be adjusted. Once again, addresses will appear in a list underneath the text field for you to select. You can either type in an address or you can use a business name if you do not have the direct street address of your location.
Navigating down from the pickup location address field, you'll find an 'Add note for driver' button, which activates the Pickup Notes feature. This allows you to add specific notes to communicate with your driver if you'd like them to know something specific about your pickup request before they arrive.
Double-tapping the Pickup Notes button will open the Pickup Notes screen. Navigating down through the screen will bring you to the text field for the note. Swiping right past this text field will bring you to various prompts that can be used for your note. Examples might be gate code, what you are wearing, cross streets, etc.
Double-tapping any of these prompts will automatically add it into the text field and activate it, so you can immediately start typing the rest of the note. The prompts are not necessary to send the note.
There is a 60 character limit for the note. You will find a character counter underneath the text field.
Note: the Lyft app will save the last note you used from a specific location. Your last used note will appear above all of the note prompts under the pickup note text field, which will save you time if you use a common note from a specific address.
Once you complete your note, navigate back to the 'Add note for driver' button and double-tap to return to the Pickup Confirmation screen.
Your note will appear under the Pickup address text field. Double-tapping your note will allow you to edit. There is also a 'Delete pickup note' button that will allow you to quickly remove the note from your request.
Once you've double-checked your pickup location, you're ready to confirm and request your ride! Navigate to the 'Confirm and request' button at the bottom of the screen and double-tap it to get your ride.
You can select ride preferences to personalize your ride to or from the airport. This is available for all ride types.
The preferences you can select include:
- Vehicle temperature
- Quiet ride
- Help with luggage
To select your preferences, tap ‘Personalize your ride’ while you wait for your driver to arrive.
Note: Some drivers may not be able to accommodate your selected preferences.
Editing your ride or adding a stop
Double-tapping the 'Edit ride' button will open up a screen where you can choose to cancel the ride, add a stop, or edit your drop-off address.
If you cancel your ride, you may be charged a cancellation fee if your driver is already on the way.
Selecting the 'Edit drop-off' button will open up the address search screen where you can enter another address if you need to change where you'd like to be dropped off.
Adding a stop allows you to add a stop between your pickup location and your destination address. Prices will vary depending on where this additional stop is and how much it alters the original route.
You're able to add a stop after your driver has accepted your ride as well. Before leaving the car, make sure to communicate with your driver about how long they're able to wait.
Driver on the way
Once a driver accepts your ride request, you'll receive a notification that they are on their way to pick you up.
Past the Menu and the Trip Bar at the top of the screen, you'll find the Driver ETA, letting you know how many minutes they are away from you. This will be announced by VoiceOver automatically as the number updates.
Swiping right from that, you'll hear the driver's name and the color, make, and model of their car.
Swiping right again will bring you to their driver rating, and again will bring you to their license plate number.
Directly after the 'Safety tools' button, you'll find the 'Contact driver' button. When you focus on this button it says the name of your driver.
When you tap 'Contact driver,' you'll have the option to call your driver or message them in the Lyft app.
You can type out messages with the provided text field. VoiceOver will read any messages your driver sends you.
Trip information
Immediately under the 'Contact driver' button, you will find the Trip section of the screen. This will list your pickup address, any added stops along your route, and your destination address along with the estimated time of arrival.
Rate your driver and complete payment
Once your trip is done and you are safely at your destination, opening up the Lyft app will bring you to the driver Rate and Payment screen. Here, you will be able to hear the final price of the trip and get a price breakdown, and you can choose your payment option. You'll also be able to add a tip and give the driver anonymous feedback.
Payment options
Directly underneath the Tip buttons, you will find the 'Payment method' button that reads out the credit card brand and the last four numbers of the card being used. Double-tapping this button will allow you to add, edit, or change the payment method being used for the ride.
Note: If you have set up a Business account, a button will appear next to the Payment Method button that will allow you to switch between your Personal and Business accounts for the ride.
After you have reviewed the price of your ride, added a tip if desired, and checked your payment method, navigate to the Next button at the bottom of the screen to advance to the Rate screen.
Rating your driver
The driver rating is an adjustment slider control that adjusts the amount of stars you'd like to give the driver. Swipe up and down to change the rating setting, from a 5-star ride all the way down to a 1-star ride.
Once you swipe to the star rating you want, swiping to the right will advance the cursor down to a few options you can select to tell us how the ride went. Did the driver drive well? Were they friendly and conversational? Was their car clean? These options will change depending on the star rating you choose.
If the ride is rated at a 4-star rating or less, we will ask for some additional information. Four buttons will appear underneath the star rating slider: Driver Issue, Car Concern, Route Trouble, and Payment Problem. If you've had an issue pertaining to these, double-tap one of the buttons and more options will appear underneath to help you give more specific feedback.
Safety tools and emergency help
At any point during a ride, double-tapping the Safety Tools button will bring up a screen that allows you to learn more about our Safety Tool options.
You can share your trip information with family and friends, or discreetly dial 911.
Share your ride details
Double-tapping 'Share ride details' will bring up the iOS share sheet, allowing you to quickly share your live location and route information, as well as the driver's name, vehicle type, and license plate.
When someone opens this link, it brings them to an accessible dynamic website that shows your route map, the driver information, and the time when you should arrive at the destination.
Emergency assistance
Double-tapping 'Get emergency help' will bring up our Emergency Assistance screen. Here you will be able to send a 911 call discreetly if you ever need emergency assistance.
Activating the 911 call feature will bring up a new screen that starts a 10 second countdown before 911 is alerted and called.
The phone will vibrate each second during the countdown.
If you activate this feature accidentally, VoiceOver will immediately land on the 'Cancel call' button so you can double-tap after entering this screen to end the call and return to the Emergency Assistance screen.
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