Have you ever noticed a cancellation fee on your Lyft bill? Many Lyft passengers have been surprised to see a $5 or $10 fee after a night out and very few people ever seem to understand why they were charged.
It’s a frustrating charge to get, especially if you’re a new Lyft user who is just trying to figure out how the app works without spending a lot of money on fares and fees.
There are a few scenarios where you will be charged the cancellation fee, and the cost varies depending on the service you used and the city you’re in.
How much is the Lyft cancellation fee?
The cost of the Lyft cancellation fee depends on the Lyft service you use and the city you’re in.
These are the Lyft cancellation fee prices in Denver. The cost is similar in most cities. Check Lyft.com/cities to see prices in your area.
| Lyft Service | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| Shared | $5 |
| Lyft | $5 |
| Lyft XL | $5 |
| Lux | $10 |
| Lux Black | $10 |
| Lux Black XL | $10 |
| Scheduled Ride | $10 for all Lyft services |
You will be charged the cancellation fee if you cancel your ride more than 2 minutes after requesting it
It can be a major inconvenience for Lyft drivers if you request a ride and cancel it several minutes after requesting that. If you wait two minutes or more, you’ll be charged the cancellation fee.
There is an exception: Your driver must also be on-time, within five minutes of the estimated time of arrival. This exception to the cancellation rule accounts for times when it’s been more than 2 minutes since you requested your ride, but your driver is facing a major delay or taking far too long to get to you.
You will be charged the cancellation fee if your driver arrives at your location and it takes you longer than five minutes to reach the car
This type of cancellation fee is similar to a no-show fee. If a driver arrives at the pickup location, waits five minutes or longer, and attempts to contact you at least once, the Lyft driver has the ability to cancel your ride as a no-show and trigger the $5 cancellation fee.
You will be charged a $10 cancellation fee if you cancel a scheduled ride within 30 minutes of the pickup
If you schedule a Lyft ride and need to cancel it, make sure to cancel it more than 30 minutes in advance of the scheduled pickup time, or you’ll be stuck paying a high cancellation fee of $10. This fee is higher than the standard rate for schedule rides because drivers accept scheduled rides well in advance and plan for them, so canceling becomes a costly inconvenience for drivers.
How to avoid Lyft cancellation fees
What’s the best way to avoid the cancellation fee? Only request a ride when you are ready and want it. If things change and you have requesed a ride and quickly change your mind, cancel the ride as soon as possible to avoid the fee. If the driver doesn’t have time to get too close to you before you cancel, you have a higher chance of avoiding the fee.
It’s a lot easier to avoid the cancellation fee if your driver is far away, but if your driver is very close by you’ll have to be very careful about requesting and canceling rides because it’s possible for a driver to show up to your location within minutes or seconds, which doesn’t give you a lot of time to change your mind without being charged a fee.
How to dispute a Lyft cancellation fee and get a refund
What happens if you don’t think your cancellation fee was fair? You can dispute it inside the app. Tap on your profile image, then tap Ride History. Select the ride with the fee and tap Get Help or Request Review. You’ll get an opportunity to explain why you thought the cancellation fee was unfair.
