Does ride by attack multiply damage like charge?

Question

Ride by attack states you charge at an opponent, is this just flavor text or an actual charge attack which can be multiplied when using a lance? I think it is flavor but a player is asserting it counts as a charge... ride by reads

"When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack."

Answer 1

It is a charge

The text of the feat says "when you are mounted and use the charge action," which means that the feat can only be used when charging, in sharp contrast to its non-mounted equivalents (Spring Attack and Shot on the Run), which only work when making a normal movement and a single attack during a turn. Ride-by Attack explicitly alters how your charge works by letting you make your attack at some point during the charge's movement rather than solely at the end of your movement, but the fundamental requirement of needing to have charged in the first place - with all of the bonuses and penalties that implies - is unchanged.