Lyft’s CEO Drives for the Company Incognito Every 6 Weeks. Here’s Why.

There are two million Lyft rides taken every day. Sometimes, CEO David Risher is behind the wheel.

By Sherin Shibu | edited by Melissa Malamut | Sep 30, 2025
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Key Takeaways

  • David Risher, 60, has been CEO of Lyft since 2023.
  • Risher recently shared that he drives incognito for the company every six weeks.
  • In its latest earnings report released in August, Lyft “delivered off-the-charts performance” resulting in the company’s strongest quarter ever.

Every , Lyft CEO David Risher, 60, gets in his car to go to work. But instead of heading to the office, he starts picking up passengers.

In an interview earlier this month with the newsletter, Risher said that he regularly drives for Lyft to “learn, not to earn.” The CEO’s trips are part of the taken every day and 800 million given annually.

“Like most leaders, I need to spend most of my time at high altitude,” Risher told the newsletter. “But sometimes you’ve got to dive deep, like a falcon spotting its next meal.”

Related: Uber’s CEO Says Drivers Will Be Replaced By Robotaxis in About 10 Years: ‘This Is Going to Be a Real Issue’

Risher, who joined Lyft as CEO , said that his Lyft rides gave him deeper insight into riders and drivers, and have even led to the creation of a new product, such as , a $2.99 subscription service that caps prices to avoid surge pricing during peak demand, which Lyft launched in September 2024.

Price Lock originated from a conversation he had with a customer on one of his Lyft trips, who said that price surging “impacted her daily stress levels.”

Lyft CEO David Risher. Photographer: Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“This interaction is a big part of the reason why we built Price Lock,” Risher said, adding that “it was listening to this woman” that helped him understand why riders “hated” surge pricing.

Lyft competitor Uber its own Price Lock feature in May.

Meanwhile, Lyft’s business is booming. The rideshare company achieved in its latest earnings report released in August, setting all-time highs in key financial metrics.

Risher stated in a that the company “delivered off-the-charts performance, resulting in our strongest quarter ever” with record gross bookings of $4.5 billion, up 12% year-over-year. Revenue for the quarter hit $1.6 billion, up 11% year-over-year.

Related: Uber Will Soon Offer Female Riders and Drivers the Option to Avoid Being Paired with Men

Key Takeaways

  • David Risher, 60, has been CEO of Lyft since 2023.
  • Risher recently shared that he drives incognito for the company every six weeks.
  • In its latest earnings report released in August, Lyft “delivered off-the-charts performance” resulting in the company’s strongest quarter ever.

Every , Lyft CEO David Risher, 60, gets in his car to go to work. But instead of heading to the office, he starts picking up passengers.

In an interview earlier this month with the newsletter, Risher said that he regularly drives for Lyft to “learn, not to earn.” The CEO’s trips are part of the taken every day and 800 million given annually.

“Like most leaders, I need to spend most of my time at high altitude,” Risher told the newsletter. “But sometimes you’ve got to dive deep, like a falcon spotting its next meal.”

Sherin Shibu • News Reporter

Âé¶¹Éç Staff
Sherin Shibu is a business news reporter at Âé¶¹Éç.com. She previously worked for PCMag, Business... Read more
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