BOISE — New changes are coming to Lyft, and it's benefiting Idaho drivers on the app.
Lyft is now paying drivers the moment they hit accept, not when they arrive at the rider's location. Up until now, drivers haven't been compensated for the wait or the driving time to meet users.
Lyft is rolling out the changes slowly and Boise is one of the first five cities to try it out. A spokesperson for the rideshare app said this money doesn't come out of the rider's wallet, so there shouldn't be any price changes for the user.
"So think about it, there's a four-minute pickup, sure they'll pick up that, but a 12-minute pickup, now it just makes it easier because they know they'll be getting paid for it," said Lyft spokesperson Eric Smith.
The company also says they plan to see if this affects rural areas of Idaho by possibly connecting rural users with more drivers. The pilot rolls out in Boise on June 27.
