Houston Lyft Riders can now set a default tip

Riders now have one less thing to worry about as they can now set a default tip in their Lyft app.

Does this mean more tips for drivers?

While this was announced a few months back, like everything else Uber and Lyft does, it was in beta testing and not in the Houston market. I can not say if this had any effect on my tips as a driver since I did not see any announcement of it reaching the Houston market. I only found out when I took a Lyft ride myself and started to explore the app to see what riders see, which I highly recommend every new driver does.

With that said, the average rider is not going to explore the Lyft app as I did. They are going to hop in like usual, chat with friends, get on the phone, etc. On the flip side, this is why default tips can be a good thing. Oftentimes, I get a tip added later in the night or the next weekend when that rider finally reopens their app and remembers to tip on that last ride. Once riders get to their destination, they are focused on either meeting someone, or spending time with the person they were in your vehicle with. Kind of rude to open your phone on a date right? (Maybe I am old school)

Without a proper announcement, the majority of them will not know default tipping can be set up, which is I am typing this up. Hopefully, enough drivers (and the cool riders) can share this and we can get the word out quickly.

The downside

With everything else, there is a downside. There is an option to set a default tip as a percentage, and/or in dollars. The percentage is cool, especially on those longer rides, and I thank Lyft for making this the default option. However, there is an option to do flat rate amounts. On my side, it had “$1, $2, and Custom”. I’ll take any amount over $0, but riders have been pretty generous in the recent past with their tips, and I do believe I will see fewer BIG TIPS if they choose the default. At the end of the day, a default tip means more drivers are getting tips, and overall, that is a good thing in my book.

How much should I tip my Uber or Lyft driver anyways?

This is a question I have asked myself in various tipping situations, I know, I will shoot myself in the foot, but I am brutally honest, even if that means less for me – When I drive for Uber or Lyft, $5 is pretty fair, yet not so common, so it will make your drivers day if you exceed that amount. The reason is, on that short UberX or Lyft Standard trip, (3 miles(ish) your driver is walking away with $2 and some change. A $5 tip is double that payout. Of course, the further you go, the more we make and that $5 doesn’t seem so big, but it does help. That $5 should pay for 30 – 40 miles of gas in most modern SUVs and cars, if not more. That helps out a lot. 10 rides mean an extra $50 at that rate. However, we do understand sometimes you are taking a Uber or Lyft because you have to and may not be able to tip. We do sincerely appreciate any tip.