Lyft Lets Commuters Cap Prices With New Subscription

Lyft has debuted a new feature designed to help commuters stay within budget.

“To make your day more predictable, we’re launching price lock, a new subscription that caps the price of your regular commute,” Audrey Liu, executive vice president of rider experience at Lyft, said on the company’s blog Wednesday (Sept. 4). “We know reliable pricing is particularly important for commuters. They know what their ride should cost and hate it when prices change.”

According to the blog post, the subscription lets customers pay $2.99 per month to lock in a commute price, capping the price of rides they take regularly, a system that Lyft says lets riders save up to $40 each month.

“If the price of the ride is lower than your locked-in price, you’ll pay the lower rate,” the blog entry said. “Your locked-in price will be protected, even during peak hours. No need to keep checking prices.”

As part of the new initiative, Lyft is also working with United Way and Goodwill to help job seekers get to their interviews. And for people who have just landed jobs – and shared that news on LinkedIn – Lyft will reward them by sponsoring their rides for their first work week.

Last month, PYMNTS wrote that Lyft’s earnings — and those of companies like Instacart and Uber — demonstrated the ongoing momentum of the gig economy. Research earlier this year by PYMNTS Intelligence showed that 22% of all American consumers work on the side to boost their cash flow.

According to the data, 23% of paycheck-to-paycheck Americans who have trouble keeping on top of their monthly bills are seeking active supplemental income. In addition, 26% of workers earning more than $100,000 per year told PYMNTS Intelligence that they worked at least one side gig.

“Gig work like driving helps people live their lives on their terms, and that’s why it’s here to stay,” Lyft CEO David Risher said on an earnings call, where he also noted the company has 1 million active drivers, with the last quarter bringing the largest number of sign-ups in five years.

Meanwhile, Lyft recently expanded its offerings with earned wage access for drivers and a new service aimed at pet owners.

The earned wage access offering is among  several new features for the Lyft Direct debit card and banking app designed for drivers and powered by Payfare. The company last week also rolled out a feature that lets riders match with drivers who are comfortable transporting pets.