The Lyft driver feedback score is evidently not based on math

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Once a week Lyft emails its drivers a feedback summary. It supposedly shows how we did for the week and if there are any areas we can improve. It includes our up-to-date Lyft driver feedback score. That is, it’s up-to-date at the time the email was sent.

I normally ignore these emails. I have a filter set in Gmail that puts them in a special folder. They never appear in my inbox. When I’m bored, I take a look at these emails.

As it happened, I was bored this morning. I took a look at my feedback summaries. I found out my Lyft driver feedback score was at 4.94 out of a possible 5.00. Lyft comes up with this score by averaging the last 100 feedback ratings. Uber computes its feedback rating by averaging the last 500 feedback scores. It’s one of the reasons most drivers who drive for both rideshare companies have a higher Lyft feedback score than an Uber score. Negative feedback ratings linger longer with Uber than they do with Lyft.  The other reason is that if a passenger fails to rate a driver, Lyft automatically scores it as a five. Uber doesn’t do that.

My Lyft diver feedback score from May 10 – 16

Lyft driver feedback scores are evidently not based on math - Bent Corner

I drove only five times for Lyft May 10 – 16. During those seven days, I mostly drove for Uber. I also took Wednesday off, something I’m free to do since I’m thankfully not an employee of either rideshare company. I’m an independent contractor. I drive only when I want.

My Lyft diver feedback score from May 3 – 9

Lyft driver feedback scores are evidently not based on math - Bent Corner

If I received only 5-stars from passengers, how in the world did my Lyft driver feedback score go from a 4.98 to a 4.94?  Mathematically, this is not possible. Not to brag or anything, but I once took and passed a math class at Utica College of Syracuse University.

Go Pioneers!

What’s the giant Lyft AI in the sky trying to pull here? When it comes to driving, Uber is my primary rideshare platform. I’d like to change that. Uber recently rolled out a new class of vehicles in my market called UberX Comfort. It’s for newer vehicles with lots of legroom. The passenger pays a little more and then the driver also gets paid a little more. I drive a 2016 Ford Fusion. It’s a full-sized sedan. It has a massive amount of legroom. I routinely get comments about how clean and spacious my car is. For whatever reason, my vehicle does not qualify for UberX Comfort.  I called Uber Support to find out why. I was told there isn’t a list of qualified vehicles. Uber randomly determines what’s UberX Comfort and what isn’t.

The Lyft driver feedback score is evidently not based on math - Bent Corner
The 2016 Ford Fusion.

Uber has randomly determined the 2016 Ford Fusion has as much legroom as a 2016 Honda Fit. It doesn’t. Normal human beings do not “fit” in the back of a Honda Fit. Why Honda named the car after one of its greatest weaknesses is stranger than a Jimmy Buffett fan.

In conclusion

Because my vehicle was randomly passed over from the new UberX Comfort classification, I’d like to make Lyft my primary rideshare platform and only go online for Uber when things are slow. I feel as though I cannot do that when I see things like how the Lyft driver feedback score doesn’t seem to be based on reality. It makes me wonder what else about Lyft isn’t based in reality.

Rick Rottman

My name is Rick Rottman, and this is my personal website. I was born and raised in Southern California, but I've lived most of my adult life in Maryland. I'm an U.S. Air Force veteran. I collect a plethora of frivolous things. I'm a WordPress enthusiast.

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