Masters in Business · Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Lyft CEO David Risher discussed the company's efforts to mitigate the negative impact of surge pricing on riders, a practice he finds 'customer hostile.' Inspired by a rider's daily stress over fluctuating prices, Lyft has reduced its annual spending on surge pricing by $50 million and introduced 'Price Lock.' This feature allows commuters to lock in a fixed monthly price for a specific route, offering predictability and removing the frustration of variable pricing.
“And it just made me realize how much surge pricing is is customer hostile, nobody nobody like.”
“It really drove home to me how frustrating this was. And it was literally a Friday morning when this woman had donuts and she was bringing them in to see a coworker for his birthday and she's like, I can't work from home today. I'm so glad that Lyft was, you know, was reasonably priced.”
“So that's what's led us to both take about fifty million dollars a year out of surge pricing. We've really tried to get rid of it as much as we can, can't completely eliminate it, and also introduce a product called price lock that allows you to lock in a price on a route.”