Compensation Requirements

Rideshare companies must compensate drivers during passenger platform time and mileage. Rideshare companies must provide electronic receipts to drivers within 24 hours. They must also establish regularly scheduled pay periods, and pay drivers at least every two weeks for compensation, tips and gratuities, reimbursements, or any other amounts due to a driver. Companies must pay the drivers by the 10th day after the end of the pay period, and must pay drivers by direct deposit or other electronic methods.

If you believe that a rideshare company violated your rights, you may file a Driver Rights Complaint.

2024 Minimum Compensation Rates

The following rates take effect on January 1, 2024:

For each trip starting inside of Seattle*, the greater of:

$0.66 per passenger platform minute for all passenger platform time for that trip, plus $1.55 per passenger platform mile for all passenger platform miles driven on that trip,
Or a minimum of $5.81 per dispatched trip.

For each trip starting and ending outside of Seattle*, the greater of:

$0.38 per passenger platform minute plus $1.31 per passenger platform mile,
Or a minimum of $3.37 per dispatched trip.

* Note: As of October 2022, Seattle is the only city in Washington with a population that exceeds the 600,000 population threshold set in the law and used to determine trip rates.

Note 2: Other minimum rate requirements for shared rides starting outside and ending inside of a city with a population that exceeds 600,000 may apply.

Trip Types

Dispatched trips

A dispatched trip includes:

  • When a driver transports a passenger to the passenger drop-off location,
  • When a trip is canceled after two minutes by a passenger or the rideshare company
    • Unless the cancelation is due to the driver’s conduct, or
    • No cancellation fee is charged to the passenger;
  • When a driver cancels a trip for good cause consistent with the rideshare company’s policy,
  • When a passenger does not show up to the pick-up location within five minutes.

Shared rides

For all shared rides, the minimum compensation rates will apply to the entire shared ride, if the pick-up location, passenger platform time, or mileage within the shared ride falls under the following:

  • For a trip with a passenger pick-up location in Washington, all minimum compensation requirements apply for the entire trip, regardless of the passenger drop-off location.
  • For a trip with a pick-up location outside of Washington, all minimum compensation requirements apply to the portion that occurs within Washington.
  • For a dispatched trip with a pick-up location in Seattle, minimum compensation requirements for Seattle apply, regardless of the drop-off location.
  • For a trip with a pick-up location in Washington, but outside of Seattle and a drop-off location inside of Seattle, the greater of:
    • The combined total of:
      • The per minute and per mile minimum requirements applied to the portion of passenger platform time or mileage driven in Seattle; and
      • The per minute and per mile compensation requirements under applied to the portion of passenger platform time or mileage that occurs outside of Seattle; or
      • The per trip minimum for a dispatched trip at the Seattle rate.
Receipts

Driver receipts and weekly trip notices

Within 24 hours of completion of each dispatched trip, a company must provide an electronic receipt to the driver for each trip or portion of a unique trip via a comma separated value (CSV) file or searchable PDF. The receipt must include:

  • Total amount of passenger platform time,
  • Total mileage driven during passenger platform time,
  • Rate(s) of pay, including (but not limited to):
    • Rate per minute,
    • Rate per mile,
    • Percentage of passenger fare,
    • Any applicable price multiplier or variable pricing policy in effect during the trip, including variable rates based on geographic location,
  • Tips or gratuities,
  • Gross payment,
  • Net payment after deductions, fees, tolls, surcharges, lease fees, and other charges,
  • Itemized deductions or fees, including toll, surcharge, commission, lease fees, and other charges,
  • The date and time frame for each trip and each portion of a trip,
  • Passenger pick-up and drop-off locations for each trip and each portion of a trip described by street, city, and state.

Note: If the passenger is an unaccompanied minor, only the city and state needs to be included.

Companies must provide weekly trip notices to drivers, containing the following information for each trip or portion of a trip for the prior week:

  • Driver’s total passenger platform time,
  • Total mileage driven by the driver during passenger platform time,
  • Driver’s total tips and gratuities,
  • Driver’s gross payment, itemized by:
    • Rate(s) per minute,
    • Rate(s) per mile, and
    • Any other method used to calculate pay including (but not limited to):
      • Base pay,
      • Percentage of passenger fare, or
      • Any other applicable price multiplier or variable pricing policy in effect for the trip
  • Driver’s net payment after deductions, fees, tolls, surcharges, lease fees, or other charges, and
  • Itemized deductions or fees, included all tolls, surcharges, commissions, lease fees, and other charges, from the driver’s payment,
  • Driver’s total passenger platform time recorded within the last 365 days
    The weekly trip notices must be available in a communication system.

Tips and gratuities

All tips and gratuities must be paid to drivers and are in addition to, not counted toward, the driver’s minimum compensation.

Tolls, fees, surcharges

Tolls, fees, and surcharges charged to a passenger and paid to a driver must not be counted toward compensation.

Deductions

Rideshare companies may only deduct from a driver’s compensation under certain conditions. Some deductions require a written advance agreement between the rideshare company and the driver.

The following deductions may be made without a driver’s prior written authorization:

  • Court-ordered wage garnishments, including child support,
  • Deductions that benefit the driver, when the driver has agreed to the deductions in advance,
  • Deductions required by state or federal law, such as workers’ compensation, etc.

Voluntary deductions may be made, but only when the driver authorizes the deduction in advance and in writing, such as:

  • Voluntary per trip earnings deduction contributions to the Driver Resource Center,
  • Voluntary deductions for a lease or rental car program.

Transportations network companies cannot financially benefit or profit from any deductions.

Note: Beginning July 1, 2024, rideshare companies must collect a $0.15 per trip fee from passengers to go towards the Driver Resource Center fund to support the driver community. For shared trips, the fee is collected and paid by the passenger for each portion of an individual trip. Drivers may authorize a rideshare company to take deductions from their compensation for the Driver Resource Center fund.