One of the complaints against traditional taxis, in addition to the cost of travel, was that they were often dirty and poorly maintained. Uber and Lyft helped completely change the image of the dirty cab and the cranky cabbie at a fraction of the cost.
Here’s information about Lyft and Uber vehicle and driver requirements.
Vehicle Requirements for Lyft and Uber
When you request a ride from Lyft or Uber, they won’t pick you up in a small two-door car. It is because none of the ridesharing companies allow drivers to use subcompact two-door vehicles. Anyone who wants to be a Lyft or Uber driver must meet specific requirements and pass a vehicle inspection before being approved. Here in the USA, the primary vehicle requirements for Lyft and Uber are:
Uber requires all vehicles to be less than 15 years old. Lyft allows 2004 and 2003 vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area and some smaller cities.
- The vehicle must have four doors.
- It must be in a good state with no visible damage.
- The car must have a proper license plate.
- Salvage title vehicles, advertising vehicles, or tinted windows are not allowed.
Many subcompacts are also not allowed, even with four doors. Lyft provides a current list of subcompacts that are not eligible.
Both companies also require all vehicles to pass an inspection. They need one review per year or upon reaching 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Vehicle Insurance Requirements
In addition to requiring each driver to have their insurance, both companies provide additional insurance for drivers in the app. If a driver is in a car crash when they are not driving for Uber or Lyft, their insurance will cover them.
When drivers are in the app and waiting for a ride (no riders yet), Uber and Lyft have the same policy limits:
- $50,000 in bodily injury per person;
- $100,000 in bodily injury per accident;
- $25,000 in property damage per accident.
- When a driver is on his way to pick up a passenger or is on a trip, both Uber and Lyft offer:
- $1,000,000 for civil liability;
- Uninsured / Underinsured Driver Bodily Injury;
- Integral contingent and collision;
They differ in the amount of the comprehensive and collision deductible. Uber offers drivers a $1,000 deductible. Lyft’s deductible is $2,500.
Driver Requirements for Lyft and Uber
Both platforms carry out initial and annual background checks. Until recently, only Uber monitored drivers on an ongoing basis. However, after several severe criminal incidents involving Lyft drivers, including the murder of a female passenger in South Carolina, the ridesharing company announced improvements in driver ratings. Lyft will now team up with Uber in requiring ongoing criminal background checks. It will be in addition to your driver’s current annual background check. Under its new system, arrests and convictions will appear immediately, allowing Lyft to fire the driver immediately.
Lyft also announced another safety feature: identity verification for all drivers. Lyft plans to identify potentially fraudulent drivers, requesting real-time photos, as well as a photo ID to compare the two.
The offenses that will terminate a driver from the Lyft platform for life include severe brutal crimes and three lesser driving offenses.
Uber and Lyft have the following driver requirements in the USA:
- Lyft expects at least one year of licensed driving experience in the USA. If the driver is under 23, Uber requires three years of driving experience in the USA. Neither Lyft nor Uber takes any experience into account driving abroad.
- Copy of a driver’s MV Report.
- The driver must go through a criminal background check.
Lyft and Uber don’t conduct their criminal background checks; they use outside companies to do so. Both look at a person’s criminal and driving record for seven years. However, serious traffic offenses, such as driving under the influence (DUI), or a conviction for a prior offense, can result in being turned away.
Three moving violations in a three-year range will also get someone turned away. It involves doing the following:
- Speeding;
- Illegal twists;
- Traffic light violations;
- Expired record labels;
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