Lyft Electric Car Drivers Can Get Host Of Financial Bonuses & Discounts

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

A few years ago, you couldn’t get a Lyft (or Uber) ride in an electric car. Now there are electric cars getting added to the Lyft and Uber fleets every day. They are committed to being greener (going electric) and drivers can increasingly save money while having a sweet ride by going electric. In fact, due to high mileage and electric cars having lower operational costs, taxi drivers (let’s just call them what they are) are some of the first people who should be going electric. That said, high mileage means something else too — you probably can’t do all of your charging overnight while you sleep. That’s where EVgo comes in.

EVgo is one of the USA’s largest fast charging station networks. As of this week, it is offering discounts for Lyft drivers. (EVgo calls them “rideshare drivers” — I’d rather stick with the term “taxi drivers,” but you are now forewarned in case I quote EVgo in here.)

EVgo says this discount program and partnership with Lyft demonstrates their mutual commitment to “mass EV adoption” and, as part of that, better access to easy, convenient, fast charging.

So, what is the actual partnership? First of all, Lyft drivers can sign up right on the Lyft app. When they do so, they will have EVgo’s monthly fees waived and they will get a discount on EVgo’s pay-as-you-go rates (see details here or in screenshot below). EVgo states that “drivers in certain markets with Lyft Gold and Platinum status can save up to 45% on session costs over EVgo’s standard Pay As You Go rates.” Naturally, getting high-mileage professional drivers hooked on electricity and used to the EVgo network will help EVgo to increase utilization rates and thus revenue and profits.

Cheaper, Easier EV Taxi Service with EVgo

As you can see in that screenshot, Lyft drivers using the EVgo network will also be getting 100% renewable-powered electricity put into their cars.

“Electrifying our transportation network is a critical component in fighting climate change. We know many drivers on Lyft want to switch to EVs, which is why we’re focused on addressing the biggest barriers they face in transitioning: upfront costs and access to affordable charging. This expanded partnership with EVgo is an important step in addressing the second barrier and part of a suite of new offerings to support drivers in switching to an EV on Lyft,” said Paul Augustine, Lyft’s Director of Sustainability.

An EVgo study from a few years ago found that electric car drivers for app-based taxi services like Lyft drove 3–7 times more than the average electric car owner. “The number of rideshare drivers in the U.S. has climbed above one million, with many millions more Americans taking advantage of ridesharing services every day. Accelerating the transition of rideshare vehicles to electric is a critical piece of transportation electrification in this country,” Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo, says. “Drivers with Lyft are uniquely positioned to benefit from EV use as well as be champions for electrification in the communities they serve,” she adds.

Aside from dropping prices for Lyft drivers, in recent months, EVgo started making it easier and quicker to charge by implementing Autocharge+, which allows an EV driver to start charging simply by plugging in (not having to initiate the charging station with a card or phone or such). Note that this has long been how it works at Tesla Superchargers for Tesla drivers and it is already a feature at some other fast charging stations as well (most notably, Electrify America stations). The car also has to be capable of using this feature. Nonetheless, it is one notable step forward toward making electric vehicles the logical, obvious choice for all drivers.

EVgo also makes sure to point out that Tesla drivers can use its charging stations, too. “Tesla drivers with the CCS Combo 1 Adapter can take advantage of Autocharge+, as well as access fast charging — up to 250kW — at many EVgo DC fast charging stations.”

Lyft Is Doing More To Help Drivers Go Electric

Lyft has a goal of every single Lyft car being electric by 2030.

Lyft’s partnership with Uber is one of a handful of new programs or policies aimed at getting more drivers to drive electric.

For one, there’s just a straight cash bonus for giving a bunch of rides in an electric vehicle.

  • A new earnings incentive: Drivers in California will be able to earn an extra $150 every week by giving 50 rides in their personal EVs until the end of 2024 (though drivers will need to register their EV on the platform by the end of 2023). And they can keep earning the bonus week after week until they hit $8,100 (Subject to terms and conditions, see incentive details here).

Also, if you get a Lyft debit card (just now learning this is a thing, but of course it is), you can get extra cashback for public EV charging.

  • Cashback: Drivers can get between 1-7% cashback on public charging with the Lyft Direct debit card. The cashback amount is based on a driver’s Lyft Rewards tier and includes 7% cash back for Platinum drivers, 3% for Gold drivers, 2% for Silver drivers, and 1% for all cardholders at charging stations across the US that accept Mastercard.

You can also get a discount on a home EV charger and a special rate on a home EV charger installation by using your link to Lyft.

  • Home charging discounts: Drivers can get a Lyft-specific discount on Level 2 (L2) home charger hardware with our partner Wallbox and get pre-negotiated rates for L2 residential home charging installation with COIL, helping with a significant barrier in access to affordable home charging.

And then there’s also the EVgo partnership noted at the top.

With all of these benefits on the table, how can a Lyft driver not go electric?

“In addition to this new suite of offerings, we’re also working with our partners to add thousands of new EVs from Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Polestar and others to our Express Drive rental program next year. This provides drivers with a low-cost, low-commitment alternative to purchasing their own EV,” Lyft adds.

“And we’re launching a new educational website for drivers, which will help them understand if switching to an EV is right for them and the benefits of driving those EVs with Lyft. For example:

  • Drivers can get up to $7,500 off certain EVs with federal incentives — with many state and local governments offering additional incentives.
  • EV owners can save on fuel and maintenance costs year after year.
  • New EVs offer a median driving range of more than 230 miles on a single charge. That’s good news for the 90% of drivers on Lyft who drive fewer than 230 miles per day.
  • EV drivers on Lyft earn over 40% more in tips per ride, according to data averaged nationwide.*”

 


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

Zachary Shahan has 7317 posts and counting. See all posts by Zachary Shahan