Lyft Enables Default Tipping And 5-Star Ratings For Drivers

Lyft is adding a couple of driver-focused features to its ride-sharing service. It’s making it easier for passengers to tip drivers with a default tipping option. Lyft will also allow passengers to tip while they’re still on the ride so that they don’t forget about it when rushing out of the car.

Default tipping will make it easier for passengers to thank their drivers. This also means that drivers don’t miss out on tips when a passenger is in a hurry or just forgets to tip. Passengers will be able to pre-set a tip percentage when they enable default tipping which will be automatically applied to the driver’s earnings if the passenger doesn’t proactively rate a trip and add a tip themselves.

The in-ride tipping option will allow riders to tip their driver when they’re still enroute. Lyft notes that riders open the app during 53 percent of the trips so it can leverage that behavior to open a new tipping venue for drivers.

It’s also simplifying ratings for drivers so that they can protect their 5-star rating they work so hard to maintain. Lyft will drop the single lowest rating for every driver, exclude low ratings for factors outside their control such as traffic, and default to a 5-star rating if the rating doesn’t rate them.

This is meant to protect good drivers from one-off low ratings which can have an inflated impact on their overall average. Lyft will continuously remove each driver’s single lowest rating for every 100 rides they give.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Transportation
Tags: Lyft