Have you ever been charged a cancellation fee from Lyft?
It’s a frustrating charge, especially if you’re trying to figure out how the app works without spending much money on rides and fees.
Learn how cancellation fees work on Lyft and how you can dispute a fee and get a refund!
What you need to know
- You can cancel a Lyft ride by tapping Edit ride > Cancel ride
- You may be charged a fee if you wait too long to cancel
- There is also a no-show fee if your driver arrives and waits longer than 5 minutes
- To dispute a fee, find the ride in your Ride history and scroll to the Help section
How much is the Lyft cancellation fee?
The cost of the Lyft cancellation fee depends on the Lyft ride type you use and the city you’re in.
Generally, the cancellation fee is around $5 for regular Lyft rides and $10 for premium services like Lux or Black. Fees also may be higher if you cancel a scheduled ride.
| Lyft Ride Type | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| Regular Lyft | $2–$5 |
| Lyft Lux, Black | $10 |
| Scheduled Ride | $10 |
How to cancel a Lyft ride
You can cancel a Lyft ride anytime: Before you are matched with a driver, while a driver is on the way to pick you up, or during an active ride.
Cancel before your driver arrives
You can cancel your ride before your driver picks you up by tapping Edit ride > Cancel ride.
You may be charged a fee if you cancel more than 30 seconds after being paired with a driver.
Cancel your ride before pickup, but be quick. You may be charged a fee
Cancel during a ride
During a Lyft ride, cancel by dragging up the ride info, then tap Edit ride > Cancel ride.
While you’re in a Lyft, you can edit or cancel the ride
But if you are inside a moving car, it’s better to ask your driver to pull over and end the ride. Cancelling during a ride won’t help you avoid paying for the ride unless a serious issue occurs.
You can also update your destination or add a stop with the Edit ride button.
You will be charged a cancellation fee in these situations
According to the Lyft cancellation policy, you may be charged a fee if you cancel:
- More than 30 seconds after a driver accepts your request
- When the driver is on-time to arrive within 5 minutes of the estimated arrival time
- More than 3 times in 15 minutes
You will also be charged a no-show fee if your driver arrives at your location and it takes you longer than 5 minutes to reach their car.
Fee for cancelling your ride after the cancellation window has passed
After a driver accepts your ride request, there is only a short period of time to cancel the ride without being charged a fee.
The cancellation window is only 30 seconds. If more than 30 seconds has gone by and you cancel the ride, you will be charged a fee. Typically the app will warn you that a fee may occur.
An important thing to note is that your driver must be on time, within 5 minutes of the original estimated time.
If your driver gets stuck in unexpected traffic and will be late for your pickup, you can cancel more than 30 seconds after being matched without being charged the fee.
No-show fee: When your driver arrives at your location and it takes you longer than ~5 minutes to reach the car
A driver can cancel your ride if they arrive at the pickup location and wait longer than the allotted wait time for the ride type, usually five minutes or longer.
Your driver must also attempt to contact you at least once before they can cancel and collect the no-show fee.
Premium ride types like Lux and Lux Black offer longer wait time, around 10 minutes.
Drivers call it ‘wait 5 and drive.’ Time is money for drivers, so they are happy to cancel on you as soon as the 5-minute timer is up.
How to dispute cancellation fees on Lyft
Don’t think your fee was fair? You can dispute the fee inside the app or at help.lyft.com.
Go to: Menu (☰) >’ Ride history’> Find the ride > Scroll to ‘Get help’> Select’ Dispute ride far or charge’> Select “cancellation fee is wrong”
Each ride receipt has a “Get help” link that leads to a dispute form
You can also dispute charges by going to help.Lyft.com. Log in and click the Riding with Lyft option.
You will see a large button that says Dispute ride fare or charges. Select the ride, then choose the cancellation fee option.
You can also dispute the fee at help.lyft.com
More help
How to avoid cancellation fees
There are two main ways to avoid cancellation fees: Only request a ride when you know you want it, and make sure to show up to the driver as soon as they arrive.
Also, make sure that your pickup location is accurate. Drivers go directly to the GPS location in the app and will cancel after 5 minutes if you’re not there.
Get flexible cancellations with Lyft Pink
Lyft Pink is a membership for $9.99 per month that offers several perks, including flexible cancellations.
Lyft Pink members get 3 free cancellations per month if you rebook the ride within 15 minutes.
Lyft Pink members get 3 flexible cancellations
How cancellation fees work for drivers
Drivers are paid cancellation fees to compensate for the time and miles they drive on a cancelled ride.
The cancellation fee for drivers is the greater of these two numbers: The minimum cancellation fee, or the mileage + time that they drove to the passenger, calculated according to the local rate card.
- Regular cancellations: $2 minimum, $15 maximum
- Scheduled ride cancels: $5 minimum, $15 maximum
When passengers cancel, drivers get paid a fee if the passenger cancellation window has passed (around 2 minutes), if the driver is on the way to the passenger, and if the driver is on track to arrive by the stated ETA.
For passenger no shows, drivers must arrive at the passenger location, wait for the countdown to end, and attempt to contact the passenger at least once.
More reading on Lyft
Maria Butcher-Evans says
Charge $18.99 o 4/19 on a ride that was immediately cacelled for I got an offer for ride w/friend.It was immediate! No Lyft rides taken on 4/19 by this acct. holder. Thank you. Maria Butcher
DougH says
Go to the ride receipt and scroll to Get Help. More instructions on what to do if you’re overcharged by Lyft
Craig S says
I accepted a schedule ride with an estimate of $68 – $78 for the ride.. I took the ride .. followed the gps directions and only got paid $55 .. apparently Lyft can change the fare without notifying the driver even after he accepts the ride so be careful .. you can’t trust them and they won’t honor their fees (showed them a screenshot) but didn’t matter .. be aware with scheduled rides
Arnold Perlmutter says
I was checking a rate this noon and never requested a confirmation for a pickup. Within a minute I received a notification that a car was waiting for me. I phoned the
driver and told him that I didn’t order a ride. The response was that I was too late and a cancellation fee was applied.RIDICULOUS.
Regina Pirtle says
I accidentally requested a ride a noticed it after the two minute period so I cancelled do I get my 10 dollars back or is that my error and I have to pay
DougH says
It is your error, but if it’s your first time you might be able to get Lyft to credit some of it back to you.
Lee says
I will not use Lyft anymore twice no shows and charged once for not cancelling.
Ed says
Then maybe you should be more responsible and considerate to your driver. Be outside and ready when you are notified that your driver is down the street. Lastly, cancel your ride way in advance, so some unlucky driver isn’t halfway there when you decide to cancel. Doing that, a 5$ is the least you could do for the major inconvenience/gas the driver had to experience/waste.
John Iglesia says
It is my first time to use lyft and in that day It was snow storm. I request for 6 seater car and I paid it for $42 and after waiting 7minutes the request was canceled and my account was deducted -$42. I dont know what happened but the car didn’t arrive. I wonder why I was chraged $42. If I cancelled the lyft request I should be charged $5-10 but how come lyft charge me $42.
DougH says
That was likely a temporary preauthorization charge for the ride. Check back in a few days, it should be gone. If not, contact Lyft
Ressa says
I just installed Lyft on my phone and requested a ride by accident and cancel it less than a minutes after it was accepted. Do I get my money for a ride back that I never took. First time user😮
DougH says
You shouldn’t get a cancellation fee if you actually canceled the ride that quickly. If it was more than 2 minutes, you’ll have to pay the fee. Since you’re new you might have some luck getting them to refund it. Contact Lyft
keivan soroudi says
I never called for lift on 10/16/16 , I was driving in ventura freeway and my 12 years old boy was in the back seat , he might play with my phone ,but as soon as I see the text from a driver I called him right away and he said to me I have a wrong number , so I would like to dispute the &5 charge .sincerely keivan soroudi
DougH says
You’ll have to get in touch with Lyft about that. Reply to the receipt email you got.