Express Drive rental deposit and charges
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Rental deposit
A refundable deposit is required to rent a vehicle through Express Drive. You'll pay the rental deposit after you schedule a reservation.
You’ll see the rental deposit amount when you reserve your vehicle.
Once we receive your deposit, we’ll confirm your reservation.
You won’t pay for anything else when you pick up the vehicle.
Accepted card types
You must have a valid credit or debit card on file as your primary Express Drive payment method for rental charges.
We don’t accept the following as primary payment methods:
- Prepaid cards.
- Commuter cards.
- Apple Pay.
- Google Pay.
- Venmo.
- Paypal.
You won’t be able to rent with Express Drive if your payment method isn’t valid.
To add a valid payment method:
- Open the Lyft driver app’s main menu.
- Tap ‘Payment.’
- Tap ‘Add payment method.’
To check the status of your rental deposit:
- Open the Lyft Driver app main menu, then tap 'Vehicles and Devices.'
- Tap 'Your Vehicles.'
- Tap ‘See details’ on your Express Drive rental.
- Tap ‘Rental deposit.’
My deposit was returned
Your deposit will be returned if you:
- Don’t pass the DMV/background check.
- Cancel your appointment before picking up a rental car.
- Return your rental in the same condition you picked it up.
Check deposit status
To check the status of your rental deposit:
- Open the Lyft Driver app main menu, then tap 'Vehicles and Devices.'
- Tap 'Your Vehicles.'
- Tap ‘See details’ on your Express Drive rental.
- Tap ‘Rental deposit.’
Getting your deposit back
It takes about 3 weeks to process your refund.
If you have any outstanding rental costs from your rental reservation (such as rental charges, tolls, or damages), your deposit will cover those charges.
We’ll refund any remaining amount to your card 2 weeks after returning your vehicle.
My deposit wasn't refunded after I returned the rental
It takes about 3 weeks to process your refund.
If you have any outstanding rental costs from your rental reservation (such as rental charges, tolls, or damages), your deposit will cover those charges.
We’ll refund any remaining amount to your card 2 weeks after returning your vehicle.
Rental bill and charges
With Express Drive, you don’t have to pay for your rental upfront.
Your earnings, including tips and bonuses, will first go towards your rental bill. Once those rental costs are covered, you can get paid out for the rest of your earnings.
How billing works
Lyft’s billing week begins on Monday. This means that you have until Mondays at 4:59 AM to earn enough to cover rental charges.
Each week, your earnings, including any tips and bonuses, go toward your rental bill. Your earnings will first cover weekly rental costs, then cover other rental costs (like tolls, damages, or personal mile overage fees).
If you earn more than enough to cover these items in a billing week, you will automatically receive a payout on Tuesdays.
If you started your rental before September 29, 2023, you’ll see a single charge for any difference.
Example:
- In the last billing week, you had total rental costs of $600.
- During the same billing week, you earned $100.
- On Tuesday, you will see one charge totaling $500 ($600 rental costs minus $100 earnings).
If you started your rental after September 29, 2023, you may see multiple charges on your default card, one for each uncovered line item on your rental bill.
Example:
- In the last billing week, you had total rental costs of $600. You had $400 in weekly rental costs, and $200 in other rental costs.
- During the same billing week, you earned $100.
- On Tuesday, you will see two charges There will be one charge for $300, to cover what was remaining of your weekly rental costs ($400 minus $100 earnings). Another charge will be for $200 to cover your other rental costs.
You can keep track of earnings and rental costs in your Weekly Summary:
- Open the Lyft Driver app.
- Tap the dollar amount at the top of the home screen.
- Tap ‘See weekly breakdown.’
Your rental costs
Your weekly rental costs is the amount you owe every seven days for your rental. This amount should usually be the same every week.
Your weekly rental costs can include the following (plus any applicable taxes), depending on your specific plan and optional add-ons:
- Base rental rate and required fees (such as vehicle licensing fee or standard insurance).
- Additional insurance coverage.
- Electric vehicle charging plan.
- Personal mileage plan (for Flexdrive renters).
Other rental costs include miscellaneous costs incurred when driving your rental (plus any applicable taxes), such as:
- Bridge fees, tolls, or citations.
- Damage fees or equipment charges.
- Personal mile overage fees (for Flexdrive renters).
Note: If you drive in Washington, see below for additional disclosures.
You can keep track of earnings and rental costs in your Weekly Summary:
- Open the Lyft Driver app.
- Tap the dollar amount at the top of the home screen.
- Tap ‘See weekly breakdown.’
Express Drive deductions for Washington drivers
Note: If you rent a vehicle through Express Drive, you’ll be subject to a $0.24 per mile deduction (or $0.42 per mile for City of Seattle rides) for any Lyft rides given using the rented vehicle. The deduction may reduce your earnings below the minimum compensation requirements set forth under Washington law.
Prorated charges
The Lyft billing week begins on Mondays at 5 AM, and billing occurs on Tuesdays. Your rental costs are automatically prorated based on when you pick up or return your vehicle.
Example
- You pick up your rental on Thursday.
- Your weekly rental costs begin on Friday.
- On Tuesday, the weekly rental costs line item on your rental bill includes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Rental cost payment issues
If you don’t earn enough to cover rental line items in a billing week, we’ll charge your default card on Tuesday to cover any remaining costs.
Unable to pay rental bill
If your payment method fails initially, you may be able to keep renting with Express Drive if you can repay any overdue balance within several days.
If you're unable to pay the entire balance, return the rental vehicle to the location you picked it up from to avoid further consequences.
You may be subjected to a recovery fee if you don’t take action once you’ve been notified of an invalid payment method.
Enabling backup payments
Enabling backup payments helps reduce failed charges on your account.
Unless you disable backup payments, you authorize Lyft to use any payment methods you have on file if your primary one fails.
Note: You may have issues renewing your rental or may be asked to return your vehicle if your payment fails.
To disable backup payments, open the Lyft Driver app, then:
- Tap the main menu, then tap ‘Account.’
- Tap ‘Pay and Tax Info.’
- Tap ‘Backup Payments.’
- Toggle ‘Enable backup payments’ off.
To enable backup payments, open the Lyft Driver app, then:
- Tap the main menu, then tap ‘Account.’
- Tap ‘Pay and Tax Info.’
- If you don’t have multiple cards for your payment method, tap ‘Lyft charges’ to add an additional card.
- Tap ‘Backup Payments.’
- Toggle ‘Enable backup payments’ on.
Accepted card types
You must have a valid credit or debit card on file as your primary Express Drive payment method for rental charges.
We don’t accept the following as primary payment methods:
- Prepaid cards.
- Commuter cards.
- Apple Pay.
- Google Pay.
- Venmo.
- Paypal.
You won’t be able to rent with Express Drive if your payment method isn’t valid.
To add a valid payment method:
- Open the Lyft driver app’s main menu.
- Tap ‘Payment.’
- Tap ‘Add payment method.’
To check the status of your rental deposit:
- Open the Lyft Driver app main menu, then tap 'Vehicles and Devices.'
- Tap 'Your Vehicles.'
- Tap ‘See details’ on your Express Drive rental.
- Tap ‘Rental deposit.’
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