Looking to make some extra cash? Get your side hustle on by driving with Lyft.
Wherever you’re headed in more than 200 cities nationwide, you can count on Lyft for rides in minutes. The Lyft app facilitates peer-to-peer ride-sharing by connecting passengers to local drivers at the tap of a button.
But it’s not just for riders: Lyft employs more than 100,000 drivers across the country looking to make extra money shuttling passengers from here to there.
- Keep 100% of your tips
- Create your own hours
- Get a pay boost for driving during prime hours
Pros
- Create your own hours. You’re in control of whenever and however long you want to work.
- Extra cash while you drive. Keep 100% of your tips and get a pay boost for driving during prime time.
- Free additional car insurance. When you become a Lyft driver, you can get extra coverage at no additional cost to you.
- Easy payment. Get paid weekly or instantly with Express Pay.
Cons
- No benefits for contractors. If you work for Lyft, you’re considered a contractor — not an employee. This means no health insurance, worker’s comp or taxes withheld.
- No wear-and-tear compensation. You’re on the hook for any dings or scratches your car takes on while driving.
How it works
As a Lyft driver, you get the perks of choosing your own work hours — as few or as many as you like — while earning extra money. Whether you want to work for an hour during your lunch break or for five hours during peak times, you’re completely in charge.
Once you’ve signed up to become a driver, you open Lyft’s user-friendly smartphone app and turn driver mode on. Then you can begin accepting ride requests, picking up passengers and earning money.
Applying to drive with Lyft
To become a Lyft driver, complete the simple online application with provide your full name and email address, city you want to drive in and your mobile phone number (either iPhone or Android).
To ensure the safety of its passengers, Lyft also requires your Social Security number and driver’s license number for a background check. Your car may also be subject to state-specific Lyft requirements.
Basic personal and vehicle requirements include:
- You must be at least 21 years old.
- Your car must have four external door handles and five seatbelts.
- Your car can pass a 19-point inspection before you start driving.
Bottom line
Driving with Lyft can be a solid way to supplement your income or to earn spending money in your spare time. No matter your situation, you can typically fit Lyft into your schedule. You may even find it an opportunity to meet cool people, like other drivers report.
Frequently asked questions
Rates last updated April 23rd, 2018
Find out if Lyft is available in your city or travel destination:
| City | State |
|---|---|
| Alabaster | Alabama |
| Auburn | Alabama |
| Birmingham | Alabama |
| Huntsville | Alabama |
| Mobile | Alabama |
| Montgomery | Alabama |
| Tuscaloosa | Alabama |
| Anthem | Arizona |
| Apache Junction | Arizona |
| Casa Grande | Arizona |
| Cave Creek | Arizona |
| Chandler | Arizona |
| Flagstaff | Arizona |
| Florence | Arizona |
| Fountain Hills | Arizona |
| Glendale | Arizona |
| Goodyear | Arizona |
| Kingman | Arizona |
| Lake Havasu City | Arizona |
| Laveen | Arizona |
| Maricopa | Arizona |
| Mesa | Arizona |
| Oro Valley | Arizona |
| Peoria | Arizona |
| Phoenix | Arizona |
| Prescott | Arizona |
| San Tan Valley | Arizona |
| Scottsdale | Arizona |
| Sun City | Arizona |
| Surprise | Arizona |
| Tempe | Arizona |
| Tucson | Arizona |
| Wickenburg | Arizona |
| Yuma | Arizona |
| Alameda | California |
| Antioch | California |
| Bakersfield | California |
| Berkeley | California |
| Burbank | California |
| Carlsbad | California |
| Chico | California |
| Concord | California |
| Corona | California |
| Cupertino | California |
| Daly City | California |
| Davis | California |
| Dublin | California |
| El Centro | California |
| Elk Grove | California |
| Fairfield | California |
| Fresno | California |
| Gilroy | California |
| Hayward | California |
| Healdsburg | California |
| Huntington Beach | California |
| Inglewood | California |
| Irvine | California |
| La Jolla | California |
| Laguna | California |
| Lancaster | California |
| Livermore | California |
| Lodi | California |
| Lompoc | California |
| Long Beach | California |
| Los Angeles | California |
| Los Banos | California |
| Manteca | California |
| Merced | California |
| Mill Valley | California |
| Milpitas | California |
| Mission Viejo | California |
| Modesto | California |
| Monterey | California |
| Moreno Valley | California |
| Morgan Hill | California |
| Newport Beach | California |
| Oakland | California |
| Oceanside | California |
| Oxnard | California |
| Palm Springs-Palm Desert | California |
| Palo Alto-Menlo Park | California |
| Pasadena | California |
| Paso Robles | California |
| Pleasanton | California |
| Poway | California |
| Rancho Cucamonga | California |
| Redding | California |
| Redlands | California |
| Richmond | California |
| Riverside | California |
| Roseville | California |
| Sacramento | California |
| Salinas | California |
| San Bernardino | California |
| San Diego | California |
| San Francisco | California |
| San Jose | California |
| San Leandro | California |
| San Luis Obispo | California |
| San Mateo | California |
| San Rafael | California |
| Santa Barbara | California |
| Santa Clara | California |
| Santa Clarita | California |
| Santa Cruz | California |
| Santa Maria | California |
| Santa Monica | California |
| Santa Rosa | California |
| Simi Valley | California |
| Sonoma | California |
| South Lake Tahoe | California |
| South San Francisco | California |
| Stockton | California |
| Sunnyvale | California |
| Thousand Oaks | California |
| Truckee | California |
| Vallejo | California |
| Ventura | California |
| Victorville | California |
| Walnut Creek | California |
| Watsonville | California |
| Yuba City | California |
| Aurora | Colorado |
| Boulder | Colorado |
| Centennial | Colorado |
| Colorado Springs | Colorado |
| Denver | Colorado |
| Fort Collins | Colorado |
| Fountain | Colorado |
| Loveland | Colorado |
| Bridgeport | Connecticut |
| Danbury | Connecticut |
| Greenwich | Connecticut |
| Groton | Connecticut |
| Hartford | Connecticut |
| Litchfield | Connecticut |
| Middletown | Connecticut |
| New Haven | Connecticut |
| New London | Connecticut |
| New Milford | Connecticut |
| Norwich | Connecticut |
| Stamford | Connecticut |
| Tolland | Connecticut |
| Waterbury | Connecticut |
| Windham | Connecticut |
| Dover | Delaware |
| Washington D.C. | District Of Columbia |
| Boca Raton | Florida |
| Bonita Springs | Florida |
| Boynton-Delray Beach | Florida |
| Bradenton | Florida |
| Cape Coral | Florida |
| Clearwater | Florida |
| Daytona Beach | Florida |
| Deltona | Florida |
| Florida Keys | Florida |
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida |
| Fort Myers | Florida |
| Fort Pierce | Florida |
| Gainesville | Florida |
| Homestead | Florida |
| Jacksonville | Florida |
| Key Largo | Florida |
| Kissimmee | Florida |
| Lakeland | Florida |
| Miami | Florida |
| Naples | Florida |
| North Port | Florida |
| Ocala | Florida |
| Orlando | Florida |
| Ormond Beach | Florida |
| Palm Bay | Florida |
| Panama City | Florida |
| Pensacola | Florida |
| Port Charlotte | Florida |
| Port St. Lucie | Florida |
| Punta Gorda | Florida |
| Sanford | Florida |
| Sarasota | Florida |
| St Petersburg | Florida |
| Tallahassee | Florida |
| Tampa Bay | Florida |
| Titusville | Florida |
| Venice | Florida |
| West Palm Beach | Florida |
| Winter Haven | Florida |
| Alpharetta | Georgia |
| Athens | Georgia |
| Atlanta | Georgia |
| Augusta | Georgia |
| Brunswick | Georgia |
| Columbus | Georgia |
| LaGrange | Georgia |
| Macon | Georgia |
| Marietta | Georgia |
| Savannah | Georgia |
| Big Island | Hawaii |
| Hilo | Hawaii |
| Honolulu | Hawaii |
| Kahului | Hawaii |
| Kailua | Hawaii |
| Kaneohe | Hawaii |
| Kauai | Hawaii |
| Kihei | Hawaii |
| Kona | Hawaii |
| Lahaina | Hawaii |
| Lihue | Hawaii |
| Maui | Hawaii |
| Wailua | Hawaii |
| Waipahu | Hawaii |
| Boise | Idaho |
| Cour d’Alene | Idaho |
| Idaho Falls | Idaho |
| Post Falls | Idaho |
| Bloomington | Illinois |
| Champaign | Illinois |
| Chicago | Illinois |
| Decatur | Illinois |
| Evanston | Illinois |
| Kankakee | Illinois |
| Naperville | Illinois |
| Normal | Illinois |
| Rockford | Illinois |
| Springfield | Illinois |
| Carmel | Indiana |
| Bloomington | Indiana |
| Evansville | Indiana |
| Fort Wayne | Indiana |
| Gary | Indiana |
| Indianapolis | Indiana |
| Lafayette | Indiana |
| Muncie | Indiana |
| South Bend | Indiana |
| Terre Haute | Indiana |
| Ames | Iowa |
| Cedar Rapids | Iowa |
| Davenport | Iowa |
| Des Moines | Iowa |
| Dubuque | Iowa |
| Iowa City | Iowa |
| Sioux City | Iowa |
| Waterloo | Iowa |
| Kansas City | Kansas |
| Lawrence | Kansas |
| Manhattan | Kansas |
| Topeka | Kansas |
| Wichita | Kansas |
| Bardstown | Kentucky |
| Bowling Green | Kentucky |
| Elizabethtown | Kentucky |
| Lexington | Kentucky |
| Louisville | Kentucky |
| Baton Rouge | Louisiana |
| Lafayette | Louisiana |
| Lake Charles | Louisiana |
| New Orleans | Louisiana |
| Augusta | Maine |
| Bangor | Maine |
| Biddleford | Maine |
| Freeport | Maine |
| Lewiston | Maine |
| Portland | Maine |
| Saco | Maine |
| Baltimore | Maryland |
| Bethesda-Silver Spring | Maryland |
| College Park | Maryland |
| Frederick | Maryland |
| Gaithersburg | Maryland |
| Hagerstown | Maryland |
| Ocean City | Maryland |
| Salisbury | Maryland |
| Towson | Maryland |
| Amherst | Massachusetts |
| Boston | Massachusetts |
| Brockton | Massachusetts |
| Cambridge | Massachusetts |
| Cape Cod | Massachusetts |
| Fall River | Massachusetts |
| Holyoke | Massachusetts |
| Leominster | Massachusetts |
| Lowell | Massachusetts |
| Newton | Massachusetts |
| Pittsfield | Massachusetts |
| Springfield | Massachusetts |
| Worcester | Massachusetts |
| Ann Arbor | Michigan |
| Detroit | Michigan |
| East Lansing | Michigan |
| Farmington Hills | Michigan |
| Flint | Michigan |
| Grand Haven | Michigan |
| Grand Rapids | Michigan |
| Jackson | Michigan |
| Kalamazoo | Michigan |
| Lansing | Michigan |
| Midland | Michigan |
| Mt. Pleasant | Michigan |
| Saginaw | Michigan |
| Troy | Michigan |
| Warren | Michigan |
| Duluth | Minnesota |
| Mankato | Minnesota |
| Minneapolis | Minnesota |
| Rochester | Minnesota |
| St. Cloud | Minnesota |
| St. Paul | Minnesota |
| Biloxi | Mississippi |
| Gulfport | Mississippi |
| Hattiesburg | Mississippi |
| Jackson | Mississippi |
| Oxford | Mississippi |
| Oxford | Mississippi |
| Tupelo | Mississippi |
| Chesterfield | Missouri |
| Columbia | Missouri |
| Florissant | Missouri |
| Jefferson City | Missouri |
| O’fallon | Missouri |
| Springfield | Missouri |
| St. Charles | Missouri |
| St. Louis | Missouri |
| Bellevue | Nebraska |
| Lincoln | Nebraska |
| Omaha | Nebraska |
| Henderson | Nevada |
| Las Vegas | Nevada |
| Reno | Nevada |
| Summerlin | Nevada |
| Concord | New Hampshire |
| Derry | New Hampshire |
| Manchester | New Hampshire |
| Nashua | New Hampshire |
| Camden | New Jersey |
| Cherry Hill | New Jersey |
| Hoboken | New Jersey |
| Jersey City | New Jersey |
| Montclair | New Jersey |
| Morristown | New Jersey |
| Newark | New Jersey |
| Trenton | New Jersey |
| Albuquerque | New Mexico |
| Gallup | New Mexico |
| Las Cruces | New Mexico |
| Santa Fe | New Mexico |
| Taos | New Mexico |
| Nassau County | New York |
| New York City | New York |
| Southampton | New York |
| Suffolk County | New York |
| Westchester County | New York |
| Asheville | North Carolina |
| Cary | North Carolina |
| Chapel Hill | North Carolina |
| Charlotte | North Carolina |
| Concord | North Carolina |
| Durham | North Carolina |
| Fayetteville | North Carolina |
| Goldsboro | North Carolina |
| Greensboro | North Carolina |
| Greenville | North Carolina |
| Hickory | North Carolina |
| Huntersville | North Carolina |
| Jacksonville | North Carolina |
| Matthews | North Carolina |
| Outer Banks | North Carolina |
| Raleigh | North Carolina |
| Salisbury | North Carolina |
| Wilmington | North Carolina |
| Winston-Salem | North Carolina |
| Bismarck | North Dakota |
| Fargo | North Dakota |
| Grand Forks | North Dakota |
| Akron | Ohio |
| Bowling Green | Ohio |
| Cincinnati | Ohio |
| Cleveland | Ohio |
| Columbus | Ohio |
| Dayton | Ohio |
| Marietta | Ohio |
| Toledo | Ohio |
| Youngstown | Ohio |
| Broken Arrow | Oklahoma |
| Lawton | Oklahoma |
| Moore | Oklahoma |
| Norman | Oklahoma |
| Oklahoma City | Oklahoma |
| Stillwater | Oklahoma |
| Tulsa | Oklahoma |
| Beaverton | Oregon |
| Portland | Oregon |
| Salem | Oregon |
| Allentown | Pennsylvania |
| Altoona | Pennsylvania |
| Erie | Pennsylvania |
| Harrisburg | Pennsylvania |
| Johnstown | Pennsylvania |
| King of Prussia | Pennsylvania |
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania |
| Lebanon | Pennsylvania |
| Lehigh Valley | Pennsylvania |
| Mt. Lebanon-Bethel Park | Pennsylvania |
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
| Reading | Pennsylvania |
| Scranton | Pennsylvania |
| State College | Pennsylvania |
| Williamsport | Pennsylvania |
| York | Pennsylvania |
| Newport | Rhode Island |
| Pawtucket | Rhode Island |
| Providence | Rhode Island |
| Charleston | South Carolina |
| Clemson | South Carolina |
| Columbia | South Carolina |
| Greenville | South Carolina |
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina |
| Spartanburg | South Carolina |
| Chattanooga | Tennessee |
| Clarksville | Tennessee |
| Germantown | Tennessee |
| Johnson City | Tennessee |
| Kingsport | Tennessee |
| Knoxville | Tennessee |
| Memphis | Tennessee |
| Nashville | Tennessee |
| Abilene | Texas |
| Amarillo | Texas |
| Arlington | Texas |
| Austin | Texas |
| Beaumont | Texas |
| Brownsville | Texas |
| Bryan | Texas |
| Cedar Park | Texas |
| College Station | Texas |
| Conroe | Texas |
| Corpus Christi | Texas |
| Dallas | Texas |
| Denton | Texas |
| Edinburg | Texas |
| El Paso | Texas |
| Ft. Worth | Texas |
| Galveston | Texas |
| Garland | Texas |
| Georgetown | Texas |
| Harlingen | Texas |
| Houston | Texas |
| Killeen | Texas |
| Laredo | Texas |
| League City | Texas |
| Lubbock | Texas |
| McAllen | Texas |
| Mesquite | Texas |
| Midland | Texas |
| Odessa | Texas |
| Pearland | Texas |
| Pflugerville | Texas |
| Plano | Texas |
| Rockport | Texas |
| Round Rock | Texas |
| San Angelo | Texas |
| San Antonio | Texas |
| San Marcos | Texas |
| Sugar Land | Texas |
| Texas City | Texas |
| The Woodlands | Texas |
| Tyler Area | Texas |
| Victoria | Texas |
| Waco | Texas |
| Wichita Falls | Texas |
| Logan | Utah |
| Park City | Utah |
| Provo | Utah |
| Salt Lake City | Utah |
| St. George | Utah |
| Taylorsville | Utah |
| Burlington | Vermont |
| Colcheter | Vermont |
| Essex | Vermont |
| Montpelier | Vermont |
| Alexandria | Virginia |
| Arlington | Virginia |
| Blacksburg | Virginia |
| Charlottesville | Virginia |
| Fredericksburg | Virginia |
| Hampton | Virginia |
| Harrisonburg | Virginia |
| Lynchburg | Virginia |
| Newport News | Virginia |
| Norfolk | Virginia |
| Richmond | Virginia |
| Roanoke | Virginia |
| Tysons Corner | Virginia |
| Virginia Beach | Virginia |
| Bellingham | Washington |
| Everett | Washington |
| Kent | Washington |
| Longview | Washington |
| Seattle | Washington |
| Spokane | Washington |
| Tacoma | Washington |
| Vancouver | Washington |
| Wenatchee | Washington |
| Charleston | West Virginia |
| Huntington | West Virginia |
| Martinsburg | West Virginia |
| Morgantown | West Virginia |
| Parkersburg | West Virginia |
| Vienna | West Virginia |
| Appleton | Wisconsin |
| Eau Claire | Wisconsin |
| Fond du Lac | Wisconsin |
| Green Bay | Wisconsin |
| Janesville Area | Wisconsin |
| La Crosse | Wisconsin |
| Madison | Wisconsin |
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Sheboygan | Wisconsin |
| Waukesha | Wisconsin |
| Cheyenne | Wyoming |
| Jackson | Wyoming |
| Laramie | Wyoming |