Lyft Round Trip: How To Round Trip By Adding Stops

If you’ve ever used Lyft to run a quick errand, you’ve probably thought that it was inefficient to get two separate Lyft drivers when you only spent a couple of minutes in the store.

Thankfully, there is an easier way to do things: Lyft round trips.

It’s an excellent service for people running a simple errand, dropping something off, or picking up just one item from the store.  

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about taking round trips with Lyft.

What Is a Lyft Round Trip?

All of us are familiar with doing a round-trip flight on an airline.

You might leave from your home city of New York or Las Vegas, arrive in San Francisco or Jersey City, spend a few days there, and then the airline flies you back to your home city airport.

A Lyft round trip works the same way.

It’s when you take a ride on the app and end up back where you started.

For example, if you need transportation to run to the supermarket for one or two items and return home again, this represents a round trip because the same Lyft driver picks you up at home and brings you back.

Can I Do a Round Trip on Lyft?

Yes, you can do a round trip on the Lyft platform.

You just need to use your original pickup location as the final drop-off destination.

For example, if you go from home (origin) to the store (destination), and then you want to go home again, you would put your home address as the last drop-off point.

The Lyft app will automatically calculate the fare for the round trip.

What Services Can I Do a Lyft Round Trip on?

There are many different Lyft car types available to riders:

• Standard Lyft: a standard ride in a car with up to four passengers
• Lyft XL: a larger car for groups of up to six people in an SUV or minivan
• Lyft Lux: the most luxurious and expensive service, with only high-end cars available

You can do a round trip on any of these three services.

Don’t try a round trip if you select Lyft Shared, however.

The Lyft Shared option pairs you with other people who travel in the same direction as you.

It’s too complicated to bring you back where you started in this situation, so Lyft doesn’t allow the round trip option in this case.

Luckily though, this feature should still work on Lyft Wait and Save, as long as you don’t select a shared ride.

How Does Lyft Round Trip Work?

The Lyft app calculates the round trip by adding up all of the miles and estimated minutes that it will take.

Essentially, it is the same process of calculating the price of Lyft, just using more than two stops.

The app uses this information to arrive at a total fee, which you’ll pay directly through PayPal or the credit card you have on file with Lyft.

For example, let’s say you need to go from your home (origin) to your work address to pick up your check, and then you want to go straight back home again.

In this case, the Lyft app will calculate the total fee for these two destinations.

Unlike an Uber ride, which allows up to two extra stops per trip, you can only enter one additional stop in Lyft.

Lyft counts the stop in the middle of your round trip as the one extra allowed trip.

Going back to our home, to work, and back home example from above, the work address destination is the one permitted extra stop.

How Much Does a Lyft Round Trip Cost?

It’s impossible to give you an exact trip cost for a round trip you want to schedule with Lyft.

The app calculates Lyft fares based on the distance traveled, the alloted time, and other factors.

Other factors might include your specific city or whether you’re taking the trip during a surge time.

During surge periods, your fare will increase beyond the regular price for trips taken when demand is lower.

Get a Lyft Round Trip Estimate

It’s easy to see an estimate for a round trip you’re thinking of making with a Lyft driver.

Open the app and enter your round trip’s starting point, a middle destination address, and return address.

You’ll immediately see a trip cost estimate, as well as how long it should take a driver to arrive for the trip.

Below, we give you specific directions for scheduling the round trip inside your Lyft app.

Lyft Round Trip Rules

Taking a round trip with Lyft comes with a couple of specific guidelines to follow.

For example, it’s not OK to schedule a Lyft round trip for a grocery store trip where you’re doing the entire week’s worth of shopping.

It will take you 30 to 60 minutes, and you can’t expect a driver to wait that long to take you back home.

Lyft driver pay revolves more around distance traveled than the time factor.

They receive a minimal amount based on the trip’s estimated time.

How to Schedule a Round Trip with Lyft

You’re all set!

You’ll see the estimated price of the trip, and you can tap “Select Lyft” if you’re ready for the app to find your driver.

How to Add a Stop to a Lyft Trip

There’s no need to end a trip request while setting up a regular Lyft ride if you need to add a stop.

Simply tap on the address bar at the top of the app and tap on the “+” sign.

Add the new address you want to stop at during the trip and confirm the final destination.

How to Add a Stop During a Ride

Lyft makes it simple to add a stop while on a trip.

Open the app, tap on “edit ride,” tap on the “+” sign, and then add in the additional destination.

Tips for Round Trip Lyft Rides

Here are a few ideas to make each Lyft trip an enjoyable experience for both you and your driver.

1. Always remain courteous

As we mentioned above, Lyft drivers don’t get paid much for the time it takes to start and end a trip.

Most of their income revolves around the mileage they drive.

2. Communicate Your Intentions

If you’re taking a round trip ride to run an errand, discuss this with your driver first.

Let them know how long you expect the middle stop to take so they can agree to wait for you.

You should never make a driver wait for much longer than five minutes or so.

If you need to take longer for the errand, you should take a one-way trip to the errand location and start a new trip back home.

3. Communicate Again

Consider calling your driver through the Lyft app after they accept your trip.

Let them know you’re taking a short errand trip and ask if they mind waiting about five minutes at your errand stop.

Your driver will appreciate this thoughtfulness.

And remember, drivers give riders a Lyft passenger rating, so this goes farther than you think.

4. Be Ready to Go

Make sure you’re ready to go when getting picked up.

You’re already going to make your driver wait at the middle location.

If you’re ready to hop into the car immediately upon the driver picking you up, you’ll start the trip off with a driver feeling good and in a good mood about you.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lyft

Now that you know how to take a round trip with Lyft or add a stop along the way, you might still have a few questions about the process.

Wrapping Up

If you ever need to drop an urgent document off at the office and go right back home, don’t order two Lyft rides.

Simplify things with a round trip.

So, are you ready to take your first Lyft round trip?

Open up your app and give it a try!