lyft is once again working at improving the experience for its drivers, some of the new changes affects passengers. Next month, Lyft will launch default-tipping and mid-ride tipping for select passengers. If you forget to tip after you leave your ride, this service will make sure your driver gets your money. Endgadget reports the service will be available nationwide in 2019.
The company is also tinkering with their driver rating system. If a rider forgets to rate their driver, Lyft will default to give a five-star rating. Lyft released a statement saying most people who don't rate drivers, say they do so because everything went smoothly.
The Verge now reports that Lyft will ask you to justify any rating below five stars, and Lyft will now nullify ratings for circumstances outside of the driver's control. Poor ratings won't stay on a driver's record forever. Lyft will remove the lowest rating from a driver's record for every 100 rides, so a single ride won't damage a driver's sterling record. Despite Lyfts best efforts at appeasing drivers, in 2017, 8000 drivers have failed their background checks.
Lyft working on revamping rating system
Part of the problem with the rating system is that if a driver drops below a certain rating, they will be booted from Lyft. This also includes riders as well. This had led to riders being unclear about what is a fair rating, and the belief that anything below five stars could hurt a driver's ability to work.
The ride-sharing service is also updating the driver's home screen. The screen already shows things like local events that will increase demand, but now Lyft will also provide predictions about hourly demand for up to a week at a time. The update will also highlight possible bonuses and help drivers plan out their time behind the wheel.
Lyft has also said that driver based updates will be released every month from now on.
Lyft new update a much-needed improvement for drivers
The changes come as drivers continue to struggle with earning a reasonable income as well as attracting more customers. The new rating system highlights that it's become a standard to provide a five-star rating for a trip unless you encountered some serious issue.
Lyft is hoping that this will eliminate riders from just not providing a rating, which they believe will now happen very rarely.
While these updates are great for drivers, they fail to deal with the issue of improving the drivers' pay. Drivers have routinely complained that they struggle to make a living with the current pay scale. Currently drivers are working as much as they can and now some believe that they are risking health and safety to making a liveable income. Lyft officials have disputed some of the claims, the fix will not come through better tipping system.