Lyft promises upfront hourly rates and traffic delay pay for its drivers

Contract employees of ride sharing apps and services aren’t known for having the steadiest or even sanest of pay rates. Lyft just announced some new earnings improvements for its drivers that will help cover their expenses when rides take longer than they should and show them how much they’ll earn before they pick up a fare.

Lyft announced the new driver earnings improvements on its official blog. The new earnings improvements aim to “tackle drivers’ biggest frustrations, and make it more rewarding” for Lyft drivers.

One of the biggest improvements affects how drivers are paid if they are stuck in traffic or go out of their way to help a rider. Lyft is implementing a new “5-minute-delay pay” structure that will increase a driver’s pay if any ride takes five minutes longer than expected. “Out-of-your-way pay” covers drivers who have to drive out of the normal coverage area only to turn around and drive all the way back without any fares.

Lyft is also implementing a new earnings dashboard on the mobile app for drivers. The new interface will also show drivers’ daily, weekly and yearly earnings and the estimated hourly rate for each ride “so drivers don’t have to make the mental calculation,” according to the post.

Drivers who drive electric vehicles for Lyft are also seeing some new benefits. EV drivers can choose only to receive rides that fall within their vehicle’s battery range and find nearby charging stations on the Lyft drivers app.

Of course, these new policies and changes won’t solve Lyft drivers’ problems overnight. It’ll take time to see if they make a dent (the good kind of dent).