Lyft (LYFT) unveiled a new initiative on Tuesday – a “preferred drivers” program. This program will reward drivers with a higher safe-driving score by giving them access to more ride requests, a new earnings dashboard, and electric vehicle rides based on battery range.
Lyft Is Offering Drivers Higher Pay for Trips
In addition, preferred drivers will be able to view the estimated hourly rate for each ride, allowing them to make informed decisions on whether a trip is worth their time. Lyft is also offering higher pay for trips that exceed the estimated time by at least five minutes. Furthermore, the firm announced a partnership with Merit America to provide free courses for drivers and with Stride Health to help them find more affordable health insurance.
Why Is Lyft Focusing on Its Drivers?
Jeremy Bird, EVP of Driver Experience at Lyft, told Reuters that the ride-hailing service has experienced substantial year-over-year growth with 1.3 million drivers on its platform. He added that Lyft intends to continue expanding its driver base as part of its strategy. This is because Lyft is facing rising competition from Uber (UBER) when it comes to market share and wants to attract more drivers to its platform.
In fact, in the second quarter, Lyft added the most new drivers in any quarter since 2019. Notably, according to a Reuters report, there was a 34% increase in women and non-binary drivers compared to the same period last year.
Is Lyft Stock a Buy?
Analysts remain sidelined about LYFT stock, with a Hold consensus rating based on four Buys and 29 Holds. Over the past year, Lyft has increased by more than 10%, and the average LYFT price target of $13.50 implies an upside potential of 10.6% from current levels.
