Lyft / Uber Deactivation Policies
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Deactivation Policies – Lyft / Uber
Contents Lyft ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Terms of Service: Section 16, Term and Termination ............................................................................... 2
Terms of Service: Section 9, Restricted Activities .................................................................................. 3-4
Terms of Service: Section 10, Driver Representations, Warranties and Agreements ........................... 5-6
Uber .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Guideline/Policy at Uber regarding Driver Deactivations, response to Ombuds Request ....................... 7
Deactivation Policy – Puerto Rico Only ................................................................................................ 7-13
Community Guidelines: How Uber Enforces our Guidelines ............................................................. 14-15
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Lyft
Terms of Service: Section 16, Term and Termination
(accessed on 1/29/2020)
This Agreement is effective upon your creation of a User account. This Agreement may
be terminated: a) by User, without cause, upon seven (7) days’ prior written notice to
Lyft; or b) by either Party immediately, without notice, upon the other Party’s material
breach of this Agreement, including but not limited to any breach of Section 9 or breach
of Section 10(a) through (i) of this Agreement. In addition, Lyft may terminate this
Agreement or deactivate your User account immediately in the event: (1) you no longer
qualify to provide Rideshare Services or to operate the approved vehicle under
applicable law, rule, permit, ordinance or regulation; (2) you fall below Lyft’s star rating
or cancellation threshold; (3) Lyft has the good faith belief that such action is necessary
to protect the safety of the Lyft community or third parties, provided that in the event
of a deactivation pursuant to (1)-(3) above, you will be given notice of the potential or
actual deactivation and an opportunity to attempt to cure the issue to Lyft’s reasonable
satisfaction prior to Lyft permanently terminating the Agreement. For all other breaches
of this Agreement, you will be provided notice and an opportunity to cure the breach. If
the breach is cured in a timely manner and to Lyft’s satisfaction, this Agreement will
not be permanently terminated. Sections 2, 6, 7 (with respect to the license), 11-12, 14-19,
and 21 shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement.
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Terms of Service: Section 9, Restricted Activities
(accessed on 1/29/2020)
With respect to your use of the Lyft Platform and your participation in the Rideshare
Services, you agree that you will not:
a. impersonate any person or entity;
b. stalk, threaten, or otherwise harass any person, or carry any weapons;
c. violate any law, statute, rule, permit, ordinance or regulation;
d. interfere with or disrupt the Lyft Platform or the servers or networks connected
to the Lyft Platform;
e. post Information or interact on the Lyft Platform or Rideshare Services in a
manner which is fraudulent, libelous, abusive, obscene, profane, sexually
oriented, harassing, or illegal;
f. use the Lyft Platform in any way that infringes any third party’s rights,
including: intellectual property rights, copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret
or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
g. post, email or otherwise transmit any malicious code, files or programs designed
to interrupt, damage, destroy or limit the functionality of the Lyft Platform or
any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment or
surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information;
h. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin
of any information transmitted through the Lyft Platform;
i. “frame” or “mirror” any part of the Lyft Platform, without our prior written
authorization or use meta tags or code or other devices containing any reference
to us in order to direct any person to any other web site for any purpose;
j. modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decipher, decompile or otherwise
disassemble any portion of the Lyft Platform;
k. rent, lease, lend, sell, redistribute, license or sublicense the Lyft Platform or
access to any portion of the Lyft Platform;
l. use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other manual or
automatic device or process to retrieve, index, scrape, “data mine”, or in any way
reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Lyft
Platform or its contents;
m. link directly or indirectly to any other web sites;
n. transfer or sell your User account, password and/or identification, or any other
User's Information to any other party;
o. discriminate against or harass anyone on the basis of race, national origin,
religion, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical
condition, marital status, age or sexual orientation;
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p. violate any of the Referral Program rules if you participate in the Referral
Program; or
q. cause any third party to engage in the restricted activities above.
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Terms of Service: Section 10, Driver Representations, Warranties and
Agreements
(accessed on 1/29/2020)
By providing Rideshare Services as a Driver on the Lyft Platform, you represent,
warrant, and agree that:
a. You possess a valid driver’s license and are authorized and medically fit to
operate a motor vehicle and have all appropriate licenses, approvals and
authority to provide transportation to Riders in all jurisdictions in which you
provide Rideshare Services.
b. You own, or have the legal right to operate, the vehicle you use when providing
Rideshare Services; such vehicle is in good operating condition and meets the
industry safety standards and all applicable statutory and state department of
motor vehicle requirements for a vehicle of its kind; and any and all applicable
safety recalls have been remedied per manufacturer instructions.
c. You will not engage in reckless behavior while driving, drive unsafely, operate a
vehicle that is unsafe to drive, permit an unauthorized third party to accompany
you in the vehicle while providing Rideshare Services, Rideshare provide
Services as a Driver while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or take action
that harms or threatens to harm the safety of the Lyft community or third parties.
d. You will only provide Rideshare Services using the vehicle that has been
reported to, and approved by Lyft, and for which a photograph has been
provided to Lyft, and you will not transport more passengers than can securely
be seated in such vehicle (and no more than seven (7) passengers in any
instance).
e. You will not, while providing the Rideshare Services, operate as a public or
common carrier or taxi service, accept street hails, charge for rides (except as
expressly provided in this Agreement), demand that a rider pay in cash, or use a
credit card reader, such as a Square Reader, to accept payment or engage in any
other activity in a manner that is inconsistent with your obligations under this
Agreement.
f. You will not attempt to defraud Lyft or Riders on the Lyft Platform or in
connection with your provision of Rideshare Services. If we suspect that you
have engaged in fraudulent activity we may withhold applicable Fares or other
payments for the ride(s) in question and take any other action against you
available under the law.
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g. You will not discriminate against Riders with disabilities and agree to review
Lyft's Anti-Discrimination Policies. You will make responsible accommodation
as required by law and our Service Animal Policy and Wheelchair Policy for
Riders who travel with their service animals or who use wheelchairs (or other
mobility devices) that can be folded for safe and secure storage in the car's trunk
or backseat.
h. You agree that we may obtain information about you, including your criminal
and driving records, and you agree to provide any further necessary
authorizations to facilitate our access to such records during the term of the
Agreement.
i. You have a valid policy of liability insurance (in coverage amounts consistent
with all applicable legal requirements) that names or schedules you for the
operation of the vehicle you use to provide Rideshare Services.
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Uber
Guideline/Policy at Uber regarding Driver Deactivations, response to
Ombuds Request:
• The guideline or policy at Uber regarding driver deactivations;
o Uber has different internal policies for driver deactivations in different
contexts. There is more information about deactivations here: link. Uber
has the contractual right to deactivate the account of any Driver if Uber
determines in its sole discretion that the Driver has violated Uber’s
policies or has taken actions that are harmful to Uber’s business or
reputation, as well as to deactivate any driver for any reason on seven
days’ notice.
The above link is to this policy, no policy for the United States was
posted:
Deactivation Policy - Puerto Rico Only (accessed on 1/29/2020 at link)
Our goal at Uber is transportation as reliable as running water everywhere, for
everyone. We do that today by connecting passengers who need a ride with drivers
wanting to provide one. It’s about getting a ride and work at the push of a button.
This is only possible when riders trust drivers, and vice versa. That’s why Uber has
Community Guidelines that set out the behaviour expected from both sides. Riders
or drivers who do not follow these Guidelines may lose access to Uber, either
temporarily or permanently, depending on the seriousness of the breach.
When a driver’s account is deactivated, even if only temporarily, it limits their
ability to earn income. So it’s important to have a clear, published policy that
explains: the circumstances in which drivers are denied access to Uber; how (if at all)
they can use the app again; and if drivers can appeal these decisions [1]. There will
always be unforeseen events that may ultimately lead to deactivation - and we’ll
update this policy regularly - but the following are sufficient cause for deactivation:
quality; fraud; safety and discrimination.
QUALITY
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Riders who use Uber expect their drivers to drive safely, as well as be courteous and
professional. The higher the quality of the service, the more riders want to take trips,
which in turn means more opportunities for drivers to earn money. Poor service has
the opposite effect over time.
There are several ways we measure driver quality, with the most important being
Star Ratings and Cancellation Rate:
Star Ratings
After every trip, drivers and riders rate each other on a five-star scale and give
feedback on how the trip went. This two-way system holds everyone accountable
for their own behavior. Accountability helps create a respectful, safe environment
for riders and drivers. Drivers can see their current rating in the Ratings tab of the
Uber Partner app.
How is my rating as a driver calculated? Your rating is based on an average of the
number of post-trip stars riders gave you (from 1 to 5 stars), up to your last 500 rated
trips or the total number of rated trips you’ve taken, if less than 500.
The easiest way to keep your average rating high is to provide good service on every
trip. Drivers on the Uber platform provide excellent service, so most trips run
smoothly. But we know that sometimes a trip doesn’t go well—that’s why we only
look at your average rating over your most recent 500 trips (or your total rated trip
count, if under 500). This gives you the chance to improve over time.
What leads to deactivation? There is a minimum average rating in each city. This is
because there are cultural differences in the way people in different cities rate each
other. We will alert you over time if your rating is under this limit, and you’ll also
get information about quality improvement courses that may help you improve.
If your average rating still falls below the minimum after being notified, your
account will be deactivated. Your account may be reactivated on the platform after
you provide proof of the steps you’ve taken to improve, for example by taking one
of the quality improvement courses.
Cancellation Rate
A driver cancellation is when a driver accepts a trip request and then cancels the
trip. Cancellations create a poor rider experience and negatively affect other drivers.
We understand that there may be times when something comes up that causes a
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driver to cancel an accepted trip, but minimizing cancellations is critical for the
reliability of the system.
How is my cancellation rate calculated? Your cancellation rate is based on the
number of trips cancelled out of the total number of trips you accept. (For example,
if you’ve accepted 100 trips and 4 of them are cancelled, your cancellation rate
would be 4%.)
High-quality drivers typically have a low cancellation rate less than 5%.
What leads to deactivation? Each city has a maximum cancellation rate, based on the
average cancellation rate of drivers in that area. We will alert you if your
cancellation rate is higher or you are consistently cancelling more often than other
drivers in your city, and you may not be able to go online for a short period of time.
If your cancellation rate continues to exceed the maximum limit, your account may
be deactivated.
On Acceptance Rates: High acceptance rates are a critical part of reliable, high-
quality service, but not accepting trip requests does not lead to permanent
deactivation.
Consistently accepting trip requests helps maximize earnings for drivers and keeps
the system running smoothly. We know that sometimes things come up that prevent
you from accepting every trip request or you may want to take a break, but not
accepting dispatches causes delays and degrades the reliability of the system.
If you are consistently not accepting trip requests, we will notify you that your
ability to remain online may be at risk. If your acceptance rate does not improve or
you are declining more trips than other drivers in your city, you may not be able to
go online for a short period of time.
FRAUD
Fraudulent activity undermines the trust on which Uber is built. That’s why we are
constantly on the lookout for fraud by drivers (and riders) who are gaming our
systems.
Creating a duplicate account for fraudulent purposes -- including creating a new
account after permanent deactivation -- is not allowed on the Uber platform.
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What leads to deactivation? We will deactivate any account or accounts (including
permanently) if we certify that they are associated with fraudulent activity, which
may include: Deliberately increasing the time or distance of a trip; Accepting trips
without the intention to complete, including provoking riders to cancel; Creating
dummy rider or driver accounts for fraudulent purposes; Claiming fraudulent fees
or charges, like false cleaning fees; and Intentionally accepting or completing
fraudulent or falsified trips.
SAFETY
Uber uses technology to keep riders and drivers safe, for instance by GPS-tracking
every ride and allowing riders to share their journeys in real time with families or
friends. This is all backed up by a robust system of pre-screenings of drivers. We
also have a dedicated incident response team on call 24/7 to investigate safety
incidents.
Actions that threaten the safety of riders and drivers may be investigated and, if
confirmed, will lead to permanent deactivation. As a precaution, after receiving a
complaint we may temporarily suspend a driver’s account until the issue is
resolved.
Issues that can lead to deactivation include:
Uber’s Community Guidelines
All users of the Uber platform—both riders and drivers—agree to abide by our
Community Guidelines while using the app. These Guidelines create a shared
standard of respect, accountability and common courtesy for everyone in the
vehicle.
What leads to deactivation? Uber may deactivate the account of any driver who
does not follow these Guidelines, by engaging in, for example: Violent or
inappropriate behavior, including unwanted contact; Abusive language; or Having
illegal substances in the vehicle.
Zero Tolerance for Drugs & Alcohol
Uber does not tolerate the use of drugs or alcohol by drivers while using the
platform.
What leads to deactivation? The account of any driver found to be smoking in the
vehicle, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol while using the Uber platform
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will be permanently deactivated. Uber may also deactivate the account of any driver
who receives several unconfirmed complaints of drug or alcohol use.
Compliance with the Law
We expect drivers using the Uber app to act in compliance with all relevant state,
federal and local laws and the rules of the road at all times. This includes meeting
the regulatory requirements for rideshare or for-hire drivers in your area.
What leads to deactivation? Uber may permanently deactivate for activities such as:
Engaging in serious illegal activity while using the Uber app; Not maintaining valid
vehicle registration or driver’s license; and Receiving serious traffic citations, or
several traffic citations that indicate unsafe driving, while using the Uber app.
Safe Driving
Riders expect drivers using the Uber app to drive safely at all times.
What leads to deactivation? Uber will deactivate the account of any driver who
receives several or serious complaints of poor, unsafe or distracted driving while
using the Uber app.
Firearms Ban
Our goal is to ensure that everyone has a safe and reliable ride. That's why Uber
prohibits riders and drivers from carrying firearms of any kind in a vehicle while
using our app.
Anyone who violates this policy may lose access to Uber.
Accurate Personal Information
The Uber app is designed to give riders identifying information about drivers and
their vehicles, like their name, profile picture, vehicle model and license plate
number, before the trip begins. Inaccurate or outdated information creates confusion
among riders and can diminish their experience with Uber.
What leads to deactivation? We will deactivate for activities such as: Providing Uber
with inaccurate information; Allowing someone else to use his or her account; and
Taking a trip using an unapproved vehicle.
In addition, we will take action to prevent any driver whose required
documentation becomes invalid—like a driver’s license that expires—from going
online until the driver provides Uber with updated information.
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Background Checks
All drivers wanting to use the Uber app are required to undergo a screening process
to ensure safety and compliance with our criteria.
What leads to deactivation? We will permanently deactivate a driver’s account if
subsequent screening steps uncover a violation of Uber’s safety standards or of other
criteria required by local regulators.
Unacceptable Activities
To maintain the transparency and safety of the Uber platform for all users, activities
conducted outside of the monitored system of the Uber app—like anonymous
pickups—are prohibited.
What leads to deactivation? We will take action against a driver for activities such
as: Accepting illegal street hails while using the Uber app;Harming the business or
brand, like unauthorized use of Uber‘s trademark or intellectual property, or
otherwise violating the drivers’ agreement with Uber; and Soliciting payment of
fares outside the Uber system.
DISCRIMINATION
Uber’s mission is to connect riders to transportation as reliable as running water,
everywhere for everyone. We do not tolerate discrimination on our platform.
What leads to deactivation? It is unacceptable to refuse to provide services based on
characteristics like a person’s race, religion, national origin, disability, sexual
orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity, age or any other characteristic
protected under relevant country or city law. Actions like these will result in
permanent deactivation.
We want to help increase the transportation options for riders with disabilities.
That’s why we have information available for drivers on this topic. We expect
drivers using the Uber app to comply with all relevant city, country and local laws
governing the transportation of riders with disabilities, including transporting
service animals.
GETTING BACK ON THE ROAD AFTER DEACTIVATION
If your account has been deactivated, you may be eligible for reactivation under
certain circumstances. Contact Uber for more information.
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Last updated: October 13, 2016
[1] This policy does not apply to drivers using the Uber app for UberRUSH and
UberEATS.
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Community Guidelines: How Uber Enforces our Guidelines (accessed on 1/31/2020 at https://www.uber.com/legal/en/document/?name=general-community-
guidelines&country=united-states&lang=en)
Losing access to the Uber apps may be disruptive to your life or to your business.
That’s why we believe it is important to have clear standards that explain the
circumstances in which you may lose access to the Uber apps. If you violate any
applicable terms of use, terms of the contractual agreement you agreed to when
signing up for an account with Uber, or any of these Community Guidelines, you
can lose access to the Uber apps. And if you have more than one Uber account, such
as a rider account and a driver account, violating the Community Guidelines could
also lead you to lose access to all Uber accounts.
Uber receives feedback through a variety of channels, reviews reports submitted to
our customer support team that may violate our Community Guidelines, and may
investigate through a specialized team. If we are made aware of potentially
problematic behavior, we may contact you so we can look into it. We may, at our
sole discretion, put a hold on your account or turn your account inactive until our
review is complete.
Not following any of our guidelines may result in the loss of access to your Uber
accounts. This may include certain actions you may take outside of the app, if we
determine that those actions threaten the safety of the Uber community, or cause
harm to Uber’s brand, reputation, or business. And if the issues raised are serious or
a repeat report, or you refuse to cooperate, you may lose access to the Uber apps.
Any behavior involving violence, sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination, or
illegal activity while using the Uber apps can result in the immediate loss of access
to the Uber apps. Additionally, when law enforcement is involved, we will
cooperate with their investigation in accordance with our Guidelines for Law
Enforcement Authorities for the US here and for Canada here.
Lastly, all drivers and delivery people wanting to use the Uber apps undergo a
screening process, including motor vehicle record and background checks. A driver
or delivery person will lose access to their Uber account(s) if a routine motor vehicle
record or background check uncovers a violation of Uber’s Community Guidelines
or other criteria required by local regulators.
To read more about our Community Guidelines, go here.
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Riders and customers can access Terms of Use for Uber and Uber Eats for the United
States here and Terms and Conditions for Canada here and Terms of Service for
JUMP Bikes here. Drivers and delivery people can access their legal agreement with
Uber here.
Getting back on the road after deactivation
If you’re a driver and you lose access to your Uber account for a low star rating, you
may have the opportunity to get back on the road if you provide proof that you’ve
successfully taken a quality improvement course offered by third-party experts,
available online in all US and Canadian cities, and in person in certain US and
Canadian cities. Check with your local Uber team or help.uber.com to find out more.
Last updated: December 3, 2019
