INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Until autonomous vehicles are here, ride-hailing companies like Lyft and Uber have to attract and retain human drivers if they hope to
sustain their businesses.
Lyft announced Thursday a half dozen new driver-friendly features, from default tipping and in-trip tipping to
ways to protect their ratings and an events planner
Lyft also committed to rolling out at least one new feature or enhancement from its driver community each month.
All of these new features
came out of Lyft&sDriver Advisory Council, which was formed in 2016.
Lyft has allowed tipping through its ride-hailing app for years
It a feature that has helped Lyft drivers earn $1 billion in tips, according to Lyft
Now it expanding tipping to help boost earnings.
Beginning next month, Lyft will add a default tipping option andin-ride tipping for select
There will be a broader roll out after the New Year.If riders select default tipping in the app settings, Lyft willautomatically apply their
pre-set tip percentage to the driver earnings when they don&t proactively rate a trip and add a tip themselves.
Meanwhile, the in-ride
tipping option allows riders to give a tip during their ride
These days, the ride has to end before a rider can issue a tip
Lyft found that riders open the app during 53 percent of trips, a data point that suggests an in-ride tipping option might boost earnings
for drivers.
Lyft is also going to start dropping the single-lowest rating for every driver, exclude low ratings for the stuff like heavy
traffic outside their control, and default to a five-star rating if riders don&t rate their drivers.
The single-lowest rating will be
dropped every 100 rides the driver completes.
The rating policy will work the same way for passengers and drivers: if a ride is left
unrated, the rating will default to five stars, Lyft said.
Finally, Lyft is rolling out an event planner of sorts
This feature is designed to give drivers insight into upcoming local events
It will also display a demand graph that shows the busiest hours of the day.
