Ringing in 2015 with Lyft

In preparation for tonight, Lyft drivers across the country are stocking their cars with water, snacks, and party-till-you-drop playlists to help you ring in 2015.

No matter how you’re planning to celebrate, we’re proud to be a part of it. And, on busy nights like New Year’s Eve, it’s important to us that you can count on a safe, reliable Lyft ride.

In order to maximize the number of safe rides available, Prime Time will kick in during peak times and add a percentage of your ride total to the base price. We do this to incentivize drivers as much as possible, but we limit how high Prime Time can go. To make sure we have enough drivers on the road on our biggest night of the year, Lyft’s Prime Time limit will be 400% on New Year’s Eve, double a typical peak of 200%. While Prime Time will fluctuate throughout the night, it’s rare for it to reach the maximum percentage.

Here’s how it works:

• When ride requests greatly outnumber available drivers, our system will automatically turn on Prime Time.
• When Prime Time is in effect, you'll see a circular icon on the top selector of your app's home screen, and a pop-up notification with the added percentage before you confirm your ride request.
• The Prime Time percentage varies based on demand. You can tap on the Prime Time icon on the top selector of your home screen before requesting to check the extra cost, or refer to the pop-up on the screen when confirming your request.

We expect demand to be highest between 7-10 p.m. and 1-3 a.m. tonight, so keep a close eye on the Lyft app to ensure the most affordable ride, and remember that you can easily split the bill if you’re riding with the whole crew. Passengers riding solo or with one friend in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York can save up to 60% by sharing their ride with Lyft Line.

From all of us here at Lyft, we wish you a happy New Year. If 2014 was this good, we can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store.

Have you pledged to choose a safe ride tonight? We’ve teamed up with MADD to make getting a safe ride home easier than ever, and Lyft co-founder John Zimmer will be on the road with his mom tonight to give rides and spread the word. Check it out!