Did you know that Lyft has two apps? There is one for drivers and one for passengers. Passengers use the app to request rides, and drivers use it to accept rides, navigate to passengers, and handle other driver issues like their pay, vehicles, and insurance.
There are a lot of interesting features inside both Lyft apps that you might not know about, so I went through each app and cataloged every feature I found.
Article contents
Everything inside the Lyft passenger app
The home screen map
The Lyft app home screen is a map that allows you to select your pickup and drop-off location. The map displays your current location and the location of nearby Lyft cars that are available.
Tap on “Where are you going?” to enter your destination. Next, you can select a level of Lyft service and modify your pickup and drop-off locations.
At the bottom of the home screen, you can select between Rides and Trips. The Trips section shows upcoming scheduled trips, and Rides is where you go to get an on-demand ride.
The home screen is where you’ll input your destination and choose a ride type
How to select between Lyft ride types
There are several different Lyft services, each with a different purpose for riders. The standard Lyft holds 4 passengers, Lyft XL holds 6 passengers, Extra Comfort is a roomier ride in a newer vehicle, and Lyft Black and Black SUV are luxury rides.
To select between the Lyft services, enter your destination, scroll through the available ride types, and tap the one that you want.
See an up-front price estimate and enter multiple steps
Lyft shows you an up-front price after you set your destination. You can also add multiple stops if riders in your group plan to hop off the ride before the final destination.
- How much does Lyft cost? Get a Lyft fare estimate
- Round trip in a Lyft? How to add multiple stops to your ride
What’s inside the Lyft passenger app menu
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the upper left corner to access the menu.
- The Notifications section lets you know about promos, offers, or account-related issues
- The Refer a friend section allows you to share your referral link with friends to get free rides by referring new passengers to the app. Read more about tricks to get free Lyft rides
- The Ride History section displays a list of recent rides you’ve taken. It’s the best way to see how much you paid, request a fare review, or recover a lost item.
- The Payment area allows you to add and remove payment methods. You can also set a default payment method.
- The Gift card area is where you can buy or redeem a Lyft gift card
- The Rewards section lists any active rewards that you currently have, and has links to link rewards accounts like Delta SkyMiles or Hilton Honors
- The Donate section allows you to round up the cost of your ride and donate the difference to charity
- The Help area shows your most recent ride, and gives you options to contact customer service
- The Settings area allows you to see your account information. You can also add shortcuts, like a Home or Word address
Lyft Driver app features
The Lyft Driver app is a separate app that Lyft drivers use to give Lyft rides, contact Lyft driver support, and manage their driver profiles. It’s an all-in-one tool with everything a driver needs to drive for Lyft and get help with any issues along the way.
The home screen
The home screen in the Lyft driver app shows a map of the local area with options to go online, see wait times for new rides, view upcoming bonuses, see your Lyft Rewards level, and see your recent earnings at a glance.
The home screen is packed with information and options
Driving preferences: Set location filters and choose ride type preferences
The Driving Preferences button is next to the Go Online button. Tap it to open the Driving preferences menu.
Location filter options:
- Head to destination — Get ride requests heading toward a destination
- Arrive on time — Get ride requests that will have you arrive at a set destination at a specified time
- Stay within area — Set a radius and only get ride requests that will keep you inside the area
Ride preferences:
- Ride types — Choose which rides you’ll receive. You can turn off requests from ride types that you don’t want to do
- Queued rides — Choose whether you want to auto accept new rides to your queue or manually accept new rides
- Ride switches — Choose whether you want the app to automatically change your pickup to a different ride if the system finds you a ‘better’ ride
Use Driving Preferences to choose the types of rides you want to get
Map explorer
The Map explorer icon is a stack of squares on the home screen map. Tap it to open the Map explorer and toggle features like Wait times, Recent ride demand, and Gas discounts.
Add more data to the default map with the Map explorer
Driver app menu options
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the upper left corner to access the menu.
- More ways to earn — Sign up for scheduled rides and refer another driver to get a referral bonus
- Vehicle and devices — Manage your vehicles and documents, sign up for Express Drive rentals, register a dash cam or Amp, order Lyft emblems or airport placards
- Feedback and Rewards — See your ratings and your Lyft Rewards level
- Account — Change your personal info, adjust your pay and tax info, see your documents, and change your app settings
- Get Help — Contact Lyft driver support, report problems with rides, read help articles to learn more about the app
Current menu in the driver app
How drivers can contact Lyft
Lyft drivers can contact Lyft via the Lyft Driver app or at help.lyft.com. If you have an issue with an individual ride, visit the Help area of the app and select the ride from the dropdown list. After you report an issue, a live chat with support reps will begin.
Tina says
What do all the little moving cars on the map indicate when I’m in the Rider map for Lyft?
DougH says
Those are the locations of nearby drivers.
Jeff Gill says
Picking up trash on the side of the highway brings in more cash than Lyft, and it doesn’t destroy your vehicle either.
DougH says
There’s an idea…on-demand garbage removal! I’d try it if there was a new-picker bonus.
Marie says
my home screen does not show the map; only a tiny pin. This makes it difficult for me to know which direction I want to drive in. I read somewhere that someone else was having this same problem but no resolution. I need that map to show on my home screen to be successful.
Stephon says
Been driving two days, and I can’t tell if I should be looking for my rider where the Lyft map shows the pin or where the person icon is; sometimes they’re on totally different blocks.
Any insights?
DougH says
I’d go with the person icon. People generally drop the pin then start walking, or move.
G n says
I really wish you’d do a deep dive into the differences between iOS and android on lyft. Apparently most of iOS is just a web page (dashboard). There is no way to text a pax on iOS. A lot of the help doesn’t line up with the iOS app. It’s frustrating.
DougH says
I wrote this guide based on the iOS app. It’s possible things have changed since I wrote it. Can you point out sections that aren’t matching up with your experience?
Also, no version of the app allows texting passengers. Instead, call the passenger, hang up, then text that number from you call log.
Tim says
I want to change my default payment method because I don’t want a business profile. How do I do that.
DougH says
Go to your Profile > Payment, then select Personal under Payment defaults. If you have a business profile, you can delete it in that same area.
Tony says
Because of all your helpful information I’m going to use your promo code in a few days as I will be picking up an Uber/Lyft vehicle in the next few days. Thank you for your post and all the helpful links and knowledge you have obtained.