Lyft drivers lash out after bonus offers seem to fall through

The ride-sharing company offered drivers $1,000 referral bonuses if they referred their friends to be drivers. The response was so huge that those bonuses might never happen. (Updated)

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Lyft drivers in seven U.S. cities are reaching out to journalists after a recruitment promotion seemingly got too big for the company to fulfill.

The original “double-sided referral bonus” deal promised $1,000 bonuses to drivers in Chicago, Boston, Nashville, Washington, Denver, Dallas and Philadelphia who got their friends and family to sign up to work as drivers, as well as $1,000 signing bonuses for the new drivers.

The deal was contingent on a new driver’s passing a background check by Thursday, as well as completing 30 rides by a certain date. As it turns out, those background checks are taking longer than was expected. This statement has been added to Lyft’s announcement of the bonus program:

This promotion brought the biggest wave of applicants in Lyft history. As we’re processing the applications, it’s important that we continue to fulfill our safety obligations. Some of these steps, including DMV and background checks, are outside our control and can vary in length for different applicants.

It is possible that you won’t qualify for the promotion if your DMV check and background check aren’t completed by the March 5 deadline.

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