Lyft Adds Wait Time Fees for All Rides

We all know someone who’s never ready when the car arrives. No matter how many times you tell them how much time they have left, they somehow, miraculously, still don’t have their shoes, and/or their coat, on when it’s time to depart. It’s possible that they’ve even resulted in you being slapped with a wait time fee a time or two, if you’re an Uber loyalist. It’s also possible that, if you’re smart, you’ve likely begun defaulting to Lyft when they’re around, to avoid that fee.

But it’s high time you axed that person from your life.

That’s because Lyft has quietly added wait time fees for all rides, joining ranks with its competitor (who has had them since 2016), a spokesperson for the company has confirmed.

“Wait time fees may be charged at a per minute rate when your driver has arrived at the pickup location and has been waiting for more than 2 minutes (5 minutes for Lux Black and Lux Black XL [rides]),” the Lyft website has been updated to read. “If a driver arrives early, fees may apply 2 minutes after the original estimated pickup time.”

For its part, Uber charges riders requesting an UberX a per-minute wait time fee if they don’t board a vehicle within two minutes (five minutes for Black or Black SUV trips) of the driver’s arrival. Additional charges may also apply depending on how busy it is, and vary by location. But if the trip is cancelled and you’re charged a cancellation fee, you won’t be charged for wait time.

That said, you can still skirt wait time fees by scheduling your ride in advance. Both companies allow riders to do so as far as 30 days in advance, at a specific time, and it automatically grants you more wait time — a real hack if you’re traveling to, say, the airport with the person who can’t ever be fucking ready. (Probably just safer to get rid of them, though.)