Say goodbye to $5 Lyft rides in Benicia. The price is going up
Benicia City Council voted to increase $5 Lyft rides to $7. Seniors, veterans, disabled and low-income will still pay $4 or $3. The program will be funded with Transportation Development Act money.
Benicia’s wildly successful $5 Lyft ride program will increase rates to $7 soon. And, the limit on discounted rides will drop from 60 to 20 subsidized rides a month per user.
Currently, Lyft rides within the city limits and to the Martinez Amtrak station cost $5 (up to $20) between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. when users enter 5Benicia in the payment section of the rideshare app. The change to $7 is a result of a Benicia City Council decision Aug. 18 in response to significant growth in users that resulted in higher operating costs.
The number of trips taken through the program grew from 302 a year in fiscal year 2021-2022 to 10,057 in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Increasing user cost from $5 to $7 will save an estimated $23,500, according to an analysis by the Solano Transportation Authority.
“The success of this program has skyrocketed,” said Council Member Terry Scott, noting that it’s “wildly successful” because it brings people to downtown, relieves parking downtown and allows people to not have to worry about having a designated driver.
No cost increase for seniors, veterans, and people who are disabled or low-income
The good news? Certain riders won’t see a cost increase, and people who need more than 20 rides a month will be able to petition for a hardship pass, thanks to a recommendation by Council Member Scott.
The current Lyft program allows low-income customers to access a reduced rate of $3 a ride after registering. Seniors over the age of 65 and veterans pay $4 a ride after the service replaced the city’s previous Dial-A-Ride program.
Scott said increasing the $3 and $4 rates “would be a significant penalty” on low-income and disabled people. He also argued that people who rely on Lyft to get to work should be able to access more than 20 discounted rides a month by filing for a hardship pass with the Solano Transportation Authority. The other council members agreed.
For $3 or $4 rides, contact the Solano Mobility Call Center at 800- 535-6883 to register. You will need to submit one of the following:
- Veterans (Military I.D. or Veterans I.D.)
- Disabled (ADA card, RTC Card, Medicare card, DMV placard)
- Proof of age 65 or older with Photo ID
Who pays for Benicia’s subsidized Lyft program?
The City Council voted to claim $160,000 of the city’s allocated Transportation Development Act funds to cover costs of the Lyft program.
In its first year, the program cost $7,622. By the end of this year, the program cost is expected to reach $125,000 and $160,000 by fiscal year 2026-27.
The Transportation Development Act provides state funding for public transit and regional planning using revenues from a quarter-cent general sales tax and a sales tax on diesel fuels.
5Benicia is also available in the Uber app with code ”RKVEZMJJTSH”.
A date has not been set for implementation of the rate increase.
Side note: During the meeting, Mayor Steve Young mentioned that Council Member Terry Scott has served on the Solano County Transit Authority Board for four years and then said, “four more years” – what appeared to be an endorsement of Scott’s re-election to the City Council.
In response to this story, Mayor Young contacted The Benicia Bridge to say that while his "choice of words was wrong and easily subject to misinterpretation," they referred to Scott's efforts as chair of the Transit Board, not his run for re-election.
This story was updated Aug. 25 at 2:48 p.m. to reflect Mayor Young's clarification.
