Lyft CEO David Risher often posts positively about driving for the rideshare service. But one gig worker said they're not even making minimum wage.
Al Seib / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Lyft CEO David Risher regularly talks about his own positive experiences driving for the rideshare service.
Take one of Risher's latest LinkedIn posts, which details driving Lyft riders around Napa Valley on a Sunday in early summer. The CEO says he made about $28 an hour, including tips, from three rides in a 90-minute period. The $28 did not include his expenses, such as gas.
"Obviously I drive to learn, not to earn, and your mileage may vary," he wrote. "But I came away with even more appreciation for the driving experience."
But one Pennsylvania-based Lyft driver told Business Insider that the reality is far different than what Risher describes. The driver asked not to be identified by name in this article, citing fear of having his account deactivated by Lyft. BI has verified his work for Lyft and other details.
During one recent week driving in Pennsylvania, the driver told BI that he completed eight rides over about three hours and drove 85 miles. After accounting for his expenses, he estimates that he earned a total of $35 in pre-tax profit for his work.
"They're not even paying us minimum wage after those expenses are taken off of that," the driver said. "But they're portraying out there that we're making $20 or $30 an hour, and that is not true."
"It's misrepresentation," the driver said about Risher's latest post.
Lyft drivers — and many other gig workers, such as those who deliver for services like DoorDash and Instacart — aren't compensated in most places for the time spent driving to a location to pick someone up. Nor are they paid for time spent waiting for the app to serve them a ride offer.
Unless you have the good luck that Risher did in Napa lining up nearly back-to-back-to-back rides, that unpaid time can eat deep into the money drivers earn while completing a job, the Lyft driver told BI.
In some smaller Pennsylvania cities, for example, "the traffic is so congested that you pick somebody up for a $3 ride, and it'll take you 20 minutes to get there."
"You subtract your mileage, and you're in the hole," he added.
"We know that driving in rural areas of the country isn't the same as compared to driving in some of the busiest cities like New York or San Francisco — each has their own characteristics," a Lyft spokesperson told BI.
The spokesperson also pointed to a May announcement, in which Lyft said that drivers would receive no less than 70% of the fares that riders pay each week.
Gig workers across the board have faced lower pay for their work in recent years thanks to a greater number of contractors competing for orders.
Uber and Lyft workers say they're regularly offered rides that pay $3 or less each.
This month, the Pennsylvania driver said a new challenge hit his earning potential: A Lyft support representative told him via chat that he was suddenly unable to accept rides in the county next to where he usually works. The driver shared screenshots of the chat with BI. Lyft did not respond to a question from BI about the policy.
So far, that's led to fewer ride offers and less income, the driver said. Previously, he worked across county lines in Pennsylvania to take the most lucrative rides.
"I have to work 12 hours now to make what I used to make in eight hours," he told BI.
Do you work for Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, or another gig rideshare or delivery service and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com.
