Lyft plans to kill off surge pricing in an attempt to boost its rider numbers. On the company's second-quarter earnings call, CEO David Rish
Well, fuck.
From the article:
“We're trying to really get rid of [surge pricing on rides]," Risher said. "Because we've got such good driver supply, which we've worked really hard to get, [surge pricing has] decreased significantly."
A Lyft spokesperson told TechCrunch that its supply of drivers is the highest it's been in three years (since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic). Its driver base has grown by 20 percent year-over-year and the number of average hours each driver works is at a new high, beating 2019 levels. This, Risher said, has helped to reduce the share of rides impacted by surge pricing by 35 percent compared with the previous quarter.
From me:
Lyft has been cutting driver pay for years. So has Uber. I’m a full-time driver and I really love it, most notably, because I have ADHD and autism—and kinesthetic job that has a lot of variety is really good for me. Unfortunately, not having surge pricing, which a lot of drivers were counting on to make ends meet and to make up for the fact that they need to pay Lyft‘s share of payroll taxes, which ends up costing every single driver thousands a year, means that lyft is less lucrative for drivers than it has been. It’s frustrating because they are bragging about how they have this surplus of drivers. The untold implication is that some drivers will hate this and will leave but it’s fine because they still have plenty. The other untold implication is that the cost of living crisis in America, means that everyone is struggling for money, and need this to pay the bills. It sucks being in a job with no security and it also sucks leaving a job that you love. I know that this is something that passengers will probably love in the short term.  they can leave a concert and they’re not gonna have to worry about extreme price gouging from Lyft. It’s unfortunate though that most passengers are unaware that 50% of what they pay for a ride already is going to Lyft and now drivers aren’t even going to be getting the surge pricing. It just makes the job that much less lucrative trying to keep up with the cost of living crisis in America. 
