You’ve become a Lyft Driver and are ready to hit the road and earn money. You’re waiting for your first pickup, but you’re not getting any ride requests from the Lyft Driver app. Is no one going anywhere or is there something more serious going on?
It’s time to troubleshoot the situation to get you earning money. This article reviews what might be happening if you’re not getting ride requests and the changes you can make to improve your chances of getting Lyft rides.
Why Am I Not Getting Rides?
There are several possible reasons why you aren’t getting rides on Lyft. You might not be seen as “Active” on the Lyft Driver app. There could be an issue with the app itself or an issue with your Wi-Fi or data connection. In addition, your selected drive times may not be favorable, your location might not have much demand, you may have changed your alert preferences, or your app may need to be updated.
First, Check That You’re Active
If you haven’t set your account to “Go Online,” the Lyft app won’t know you’re ready to receive rides. You may have switched it off and forgotten to turn it back on. If you’re new to the Lyft Driver app, here are steps to show you’re active and ready to receive rides.
- In the top middle of your Lyft Driver app home screen, find the “Go Online” button (steering wheel icon.)
- Tap on it to go online.
Once it’s been turned on, you should start receiving rides. When you need to stop at the end of the day or if you need to take a break, tap on the button once more, and you’ll be unavailable.
Try Location Filters
Location filters are a seamless way to get more rides. They can be activated in all areas where Lyft is available and ensure you’re paired with passengers and destinations that fit the criteria you set. You’ll automatically be taken offline if you don’t receive a ride request within 30 minutes of activating a location filter. The app might also take you offline en route to your destination to ensure you reach there on time. Ride requests in a location filter look the same as in normal driver mode.
Using location filters helps you control your ride requests and filter them in these ways:
- Arrive on time – Set a specific arrival time
- Head to destination – Set a specific destination for which you only want to receive rides for
- Stay within an area – Dropping a pin on your map, set your rides to within a 5 to 10 mile radius
How to Enter Location Filters
Here’s how to choose a location filter for your Lyft rides:
- Launch the Lyft Driver app.
- Tap on “Go Online.”
- In the below right corner, select “Filter.”
- Select your ride filter preference from: “Arrive on Time,” “Head to Destination,” or “Stay Nearby.”
How You’re Matched While Using Location Filters
When “Head to destination” is active and your arrival time is chosen, you can get matched to riders moving in a direction you choose. This also includes rides that move you away from the destination. As you approach your time to arrive, you receive new rides that will bring you closer to your preferred destination. To ensure that you arrive on time, you’ll receive an alert signaling when you must head to your destination.
If you haven’t chosen an arrival time when “Head to destination” is activated, you’ll only get ride requests that take you nearer to the destination. Note that you might not necessarily be closer in terms of distance, but you’ll be closer in terms of the time it takes to travel to your chosen destination.
How Often Can Location Filters Be Used
Lyft drivers can use location filters twice daily regardless of how they filter rides, e.g., Arrive on Time, Head to Destination, or Stand Nearby. These usually reset at midnight. Even if you go offline while using an active location filter, it will be counted toward your usage limit.
How to Remove a Location Filter
To remove an active location filter, do the following:
- Next to your destination address, select “Edit.”
- Choose “Remove Filter.”
You’ll revert to receiving typical ride requests, and when you get to your destination, you’ll automatically be logged out of Driver Mode.
Use Scheduled Pickups
A great way to ensure you get rides is to acquire rides before you go online through scheduling. This eliminates having to wait for ride requests to come through. Once activated, the Lyft Driver app will send the driver an alert when it’s time for the scheduled ride to begin, which streamlines the process and eliminates the guesswork.
Here are steps on how to add scheduled rides:
- Go to the main menu.
- Choose “More Ways to Earn.”
- Find the “Scheduled Pickup” option.
- Select a ride that suits your schedule and tap on reserve.
- Choose “Reserve” to confirm action.
You will be notified as soon as it’s time for the ride.
Drive in the City
To ensure that you always get rides, it helps to be located in a busy location. If you’re operating in a big city like Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York, or even a slightly smaller city, moving from one job to the next will be quicker. It’ll also be easier to find another passenger close by after you’ve dropped one off. So if you’re near a large city or town, but haven’t tried scheduling rides there, try expanding your operating radius.
Schedule Your Ride Times During Prime Time
Driving during “prime time” is a sure way to get more rides and increase earnings. To maximize your hourly rate, schedule your work day around prime-time hours. Peak hours and rates differ from one city to the next but don’t differ that greatly and coincide with commuter travel times.
Morning and evening rush hours are the busiest times because everyone’s trying to get to work, home, or perhaps a club to meet friends. Weekend nights are usually busy. So, the best times to schedule rides during weekdays are from 6 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. For weekends, peak hours generally begin in the evenings, from 7 p.m to bar closing time in your location.
To check the peak hours in your city, go into your Driver Dashboard or your Driver Console. Maximize on special occasions like concerts, festivals, conventions, and sporting events in your city. Prime-time rates are usually activated during such events, and you’re always guaranteed to get rides.
Connectivity Issues With the Lyft Driver App
At times, not receiving rides could be caused by connectivity issues on your device. Here are some changes you could implement to improve your device’s connectivity.
- Update the device’s settings and software. This usually prevents any future problems with connectivity within your Lyft Driver app.
- Close any other apps running in the background. While using the Lyft Driver app, ensure you’ve closed any apps you don’t need. Running several apps in the background of your device reduces the data bandwidth that Lyft can utilize, which affects functionality.
- Turn Airplane Mode on and off. Turning the Airplane Mode on for a few seconds and then turning it off will refresh your network connection and resolve any connectivity issues.
- Change locations. If the network connection in your area is poor, try moving to a place with a stronger connection.
- Restart your device. This easy solution will reset your device and remove any glitches within the Lyft Driver app.
- Uninstall and reinstall the Lyft Driver app. Removing and reinstalling the Lyft Driver app can fix bugs in the previous version. After uninstalling the app, switch the phone off and on to ensure a clean slate.
- Switch from Wi-Fi to data. If your Wi-Fi connection is unstable, try switching to data and see if that improves your connection.
Refresh Your Ride Receiving Potential
As a Lyft Driver, it can be highly frustrating when you’re not getting any rides, especially if you rely on this income. Thankfully there are easy solutions to this problem, which we’ve expounded on above. Quick troubleshooting includes updating the app or a simple restart. Connectivity issues come into play, and editing your ride settings increases your chances of receiving available rides.
Which method above have you found more effective for getting Lyft rides? Let us know in the comments section below.
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