- Some Uber and Lyft drivers are striking deals with passengers for rides outside the apps.
- Drivers say they’re trying to make up for low-paying gigs through the rideshare apps.
- Going outside the apps raises safety and insurance concerns, the companies said.
Some drivers for rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are offering passengers an alternative: Ditch the apps entirely, agree on a price, and pay them in cash or through an app like Venmo.
Drivers for the services told Business Insider that going around the apps has become attractive as many have noticed their earnings decreasing. In the past, some have said some trips paid as little as $3. Striking a deal directly with their passenger offers a more lucrative fare — even if it carries risks for both sides.
Posts on Reddit and in Facebook groups include questions from drivers about whether it’s ever acceptable to ask riders to cancel the ride they requested through the Uber or Lyft app and pay them another way. There are also some posts from passengers describing the other side of the interaction.
One TikTok post from last year appears to show an Uber driver asking a rider, who is filming the interaction, asking her to pay $70 in cash for a ride for which Uber was charging her $80. The video appears to show the driver saying that Uber wasn’t paying him enough for the ride and that he was “just being nice” by offering her a discount on the ride. The poster did not respond to a request to discuss the video from Business Insider.
Michael Moya, who drives for Uber in Boston, said he often hears drivers discussing whether to offer customers the option not to use the apps and pay using cash or a separate payment app like Venmo.
The option could backfire, he said, including Uber and Lyft deactivating the drivers’ accounts. “Some drivers have considered accepting payment outside the app, but it’s risky,” Moya said. “We could lose our accounts if a passenger reports us, so most drivers try to avoid this.”
Canceling a ride can also cost riders. Uber charges a fee for passengers who cancel their request for a ride later than a few minutes after they make it. Lyft, meanwhile, charges riders a fee for canceling “more than 30 seconds after the drive accepts your ride,” according to the company’s website.
“We urge riders and drivers alike to only take trips that are requested through the Uber app for their safety,” an Uber spokesperson told BI, adding that riders can record audio of their trip, hit an emergency button, or share their trips with contacts if the ride isn’t going as planned.
“Off-app trips are prohibited by many regulations and our policies, and drivers who violate this policy risk losing access to the Uber platform,” the spokesperson said. Lyft did not respond to requests for comment from BI.
The financial incentive to make a deal with riders outside the apps can be significant.
Uber and Lyft have said their drivers make over $30 per hour before expenses. But some rideshare drivers’ pay is considerably lower than that — as little as $9 an hour, BI previously reported.
Both rideshare drivers and delivery workers for services like Uber Eats and Instacart have said that competition to claim the most profitable gigs on the platforms has intensified in recent years.
Rideshare drivers told BI that they often make less than half of what riders pay for the trip. One Uber driver in Massachusetts shared screenshots of a recent Uber trip that cost the rider about $156 — and paid the driver roughly $74 after Uber deducted its share plus taxes.
Many passengers that the driver encounters don’t know that Uber drivers usually make a fraction of the fare — and some are more amenable to working around the app once they know, the driver said.
“I have talked with passengers that think we receive all the money,” the driver said.
Do you work for a rideshare or gig delivery service and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com
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