What Are The Best Hours To Drive For Lyft? Solved (2024)

Best Hours to Drive for Lyft

For new Lyft drivers, you’re probably thinking about how you can increase your earnings.

But did you know that timing is one of the most critical aspects to consider when finding the best driving hours for Lyft to earn more money? Read on to learn more.

5 Best Hours To Drive & Earn For Lyft

1. Early Mornings

Early morning drives are a great idea, especially during the weekdays. You can drive from 6 AM to 7 AM as many people are looking for transportation to work or school.

But we highly suggest starting work around 3 AM to 4 AM because many Lyft drivers are still sleeping – meaning you’re up against less competition.

Passengers are probably people that work an early shift, people heading home from overnight duty, or commuters catching an early flight.

Also, if you’re an early bird, consider working during peak hours to maximize your fares. It will allow you to avoid the 8 and 9 AM rush hour.

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2. Friday & Saturday Nights

One of the most profitable times to drive for Lyft is Friday and Saturday nights, with late-night being the best. During such evenings, surge pricing can occur.

So we suggest positioning yourself near restaurants, theaters, bars, and nightclubs, where you are most likely to pick up more passengers trying to go home.

Also, if there’s a nearby university, you can get student passengers going for a night out. However, you might also encounter traffic or drunk passengers.

If you don’t mind such hassles, you can earn a good amount due to extra tips.

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3. Daytime Weekends

During daytime weekends, there are no business-friendly hours for airports and traffic. But this means Hot Spots are likely in residential areas.

People go to lakes, parks, and amusement parks during weekends. You can also grab various riders running errands.

You’ll surely have your favorite neighborhood soon, where you are familiar with the area and can pick up many passengers.

4. Special Events

As a Lyft driver, you must know what’s going on around your region or area.

There might be rallies, large concerts, political events, religious conferences, or some other activities that will take place.

During this time, make sure to position yourself nearby and expect your Lyft app to get loaded, as many passengers are sure to need your service.

5. Lunch Breaks

During lunch hours, businesses are usually busy. These are typically from 11 AM to 2 PM. So it’s important to be downtown during these times to maximize profits.

Best Spots To Look For Before Driving Lyft

Hot Spots

In Driver Mode, Lyft adds a feature showing the city’s most popular hot spots. This helps you find the best locations to earn money.

To know the areas where many people are requesting rides, check the app’s Hot Spots. Working during peak hours while checking hot spots can help you maximize your earnings.

Peak Hours

The peak hours are when you can earn the highest pay rate possible. Peak hours are usually the most popular and busiest times.

What’s good about peak hours is passengers are willing to pay premium rates or fares – meaning more income for drivers like you.

But you have the option not to drive during these hours if passenger requests occur at the same time as the traffic during rush hour—your call.

Custom Image, Traffic at Peak Hours

FAQs

How do I make the most money driving for Lyft?

To make the most money driving for Lyft, choose the most popular times and days to drive. Also, keeping your car in shape, checking bonus schemes, and improving your service help in boosting your income.

What happens when you reach/drive 100 rides on Lyft?

When you reach/drive 100 rides on Lyft, you can get an extra $250 to $400 bonus. This is called the multi-tier bonus open for new Lyft drivers.

For more tips visit Route4Me route planner.

In Summary

If you want a reliable side hustle, you can try driving for Lyft. Your income will depend on your strategy, so knowing the best time to drive for Lyft is crucial.

To boost your income, be sure to work early mornings, during lunch breaks, daytime weekends, Friday & Saturday nights, and when there are special events.

Also, don’t forget to consider the peak hours and check for hot spots. With all that in mind, you can make the most money driving for Lyft. Good luck, and stay safe.

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Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Help Drivers Increase Earnings?

Whether you want to optimize routes, make more stops in less time, or reduce driving time… Route4Me helps you achieve that!

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About author: Dominic Walker

Dominic Walker works as a content marketer as part of Route4Me’s worldwide remote workforce. A teacher of over 15 years, Dom knows how to break complex ideas down to the very basics and explain them in a digestible way. He loves answering questions, so if you’re wondering about route optimization, jazz guitar, or how to land a fat bass, Dom is your guy.

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About Route4Me

Route4Me has over 40,000 customers globally. Route4Me's Android and iPhone mobile apps have been downloaded over 2 million times since 2009. Extremely easy-to-use, Route4Me's apps create optimized routes, synchronize routes to mobile devices, enable communication with drivers and customers, offer turn-by-turn directions, delivery confirmation, and more. Behind the scenes, Route4Me's operational optimization platform combines high-performance algorithms with data science, machine learning, and big data to plan, optimize, and analyze routes of almost any size in real-time.