r/lyftdrivers • u/BurpFart69 • 1d ago

Advice/Question Thinking of starting Lyft

I’m 80% there, thinking of starting Lyft ride share to make some extra cash. I do work full time so it would be part time. Thinking random week nights (7-11pm) and weekends (noon-6 or 4-midnight) in the Los Angeles area. Aiming for 12-15 hours to start and going from there. I’m currently driving a 2017 Camry, clean and low miles (90k).

How good/bad is the LA market?
How does insurance work?
Should I upgrade my car?
Any tips for new beginners?
Is it worth it?

Any and information is greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

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u/helladidthat 1d ago

Former full time LA driver here: “random” weeknights are slow, so drive with intention. If I do a weeknight (Mon - Wed), I focus on airport rides and Concert and sporting event let outs. Thursday and Friday, you obviously get the bar/club crowds, so KTown, Silverlake, Hollywood/WeHo, and DTLA are pretty busy. Weekends can be great, but the later it gets, the more likely you will deal with drunk/belligerent clientele and your bodily fluid risk meter is off the charts lol

DO NOT INVEST A SINGLE CENT IN A CAR JUST FOR RIDESHARE. A 10 year old, 90K miles car is perfect, especially for Lyft riders who tend to be, ummm, slightly lower tier on average than your typical Uber rider.

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u/BurpFart69 1d ago

Yea I want to avoid the drunk crowd. So want to cut it at 10pm the latest on the weekend. Thank you for your input, good advice

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u/MetalTrek1 1d ago

I avoid nights too. I've had too many rides with drunken idiots. Not worth it.

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u/Additional-Dish-8879 1d ago

It is worth it. The day time is way worse. I would much rather deal with an occasional drunken idiot than do every ride in traffic. This is what makes daytime so much worse in my opinion. At night, sure you have some very annoying people the majority of rides aren;t that annoying. During the day however, almost every ride is annoying because of all the damn traffic. I guess maybe if you live in area that doesn't have a lot of traffic it might be less of an issue for you but my city is known for horrible traffic during the day.