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How to schedule a Lyft on the mobile app to book a future ride in advance

Lyft
You can schedule a Lyft ride in advance with a pick up time, location, and destination. Kevin McGovern/Shutterstock
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Lyft introduced a way for its riders to schedule rides in advance just over 3 years ago. 

Since the feature rolled out in San Francisco in 2016, most metropolitan cities have the feature today as a way to, for example, leave for the airport on time or to beat the traffic on a busy workday. 

If you no longer need the scheduled Lyft, or need to change the pick up or drop-off destination, the company allows you to cancel or update without a fee. 

Scheduling a Lyft is easy, too, and can be done in just a few steps.  

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How to schedule a Lyft using the mobile app

1. First, launch the Lyft app on your iPhone or Android phone. 

2. Type in your scheduled destination under "Where are you going?"

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Open Lyft and type in your scheduled destination.  Meira Gebel/Business Insider

3. Once you've selected your destination, tap "Schedule" (the icon resembling a calendar) right above the "Select Lyft" button. 

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Tap the Schedule icon near the bottom of the screen.  Meira Gebel/Business Insider

4. Next, make sure your pick-up location is accurate, then tap "Confirm pickup."

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Confirm your pick-up location before moving on.  Meira Gebel/Business Insider

5. Then select the date and time you wish to schedule your Lyft ride by toggling through the options. You can schedule a Lyft up to a week in advance. A driver will come pick you up within 10 minutes of your scheduled time.

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Select a date and time to schedule your Lyft ride.  Meira Gebel/Business Insider

6. Make sure your pick-up location, date and time, and type of Lyft are correct before tapping "Schedule" — if so, tap "Schedule" and pay. 

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Tap "Schedule" to ensure a Lyft will pick you up at your desired place and time.  Meira Gebel/Business Insider

You can cancel or update your scheduled ride at any time before you are matched with a driver without a fee. 

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Meira Gebel is a freelance reporter based in Portland, Oregon. She writes about business, culture, and technology for Insider. Her work has been featured in Digital Trends, Willamette Week, USA Today, and more. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and San Francisco State University.  Feel free to reach out to her on Twitter, where she can be found most of the time, @MeiraGebel.