Confession's of a Ride Share Driver ~ #moderndaytaxicabconfessionssteemCreated with Sketch.

in #ridesharing5 years ago

IMG_0052.jpg

With the birth of our second child a few weeks ago, we had planned on getting a larger vehicle to accommodate for our growing family. We were primarily looking at Chevy Tahoe's/Denali's & the GMC Equinox, but stumbled upon a vehicle we didn't have on our radar at all. The Lincoln MKT. A 7 seater with AWD, comfortable and luxurious, without breaking the bank. It checked all the boxes. I call it my non-mini-van. We have our other vehicle on the market, but while we are waiting to sell it, I decided to make some extra money and try out ride-sharing. I got set up with Uber first and have completed over 70 trips. I literally just got my background check from Lyft approved today, so I will try them out on my next go.

2013-Lincoln-MKT-Base.jpg

I have used Uber to get rides places, but being a driver is a different beast. I feel like a bartender to be honest. Not that I'm serving any alcohol, but because people talk to me like they talk to their bartender. I get to hear all of their life problems. No joke.

I picked up a guy from a local bar around 10 PM the other night. On the way to his apartment (after a few too many drinks at the bar) he goes on and on about how messed up his life is right now. The woman he is seeing just keeps hanging around and he wants to be done with her. He got a DWI recently and can't drive. To top it off, the woman he is seeing called the cops on him for domestic assault after they had an argument, his second trip to the slammer in as many weeks. I felt bad for the guy. Not that assault is ever a noble gesture, but the guy seemed to keep getting in his own way. Hopefully things turn around for him and he straightens up his life.

Later that week I had a mid 20's year old girl (probably had a few drinks in her as well) go on for about 80% of the 25 minute drive about how she wanted her boyfriend of 5 years to ask her dad for permission to marry her. She wanted that traditional-ness in marriage that she grew up with. I don't think I got a word in edge wise, but was happy to let her let it all out for over 20 minutes. She had a kind soul no doubt, her boyfriend is lucky to have her. That is if he doesn't mind being all ears the rest of his life, lol.

I picked up a woman who had just gotten back from Nepal. She went and hiked Kilimanjaro, took a helicopter ride, and enjoyed all the nature it had to offer. She shared some really cool stories, least of all was her saying how everyone else had gotten sick and she hadn't...until the day she said that. She got horribly sick (she thought it was probably food poisoning) on the second to last day. She kept lamenting how great it was to finally be home after traveling for 2 days straight while being sick as a dog. "I can't wait to lay in my own bed and sleep!!!" - I know the feeling.

My favorite ride so far was picking up 5 guys in St. Paul and asking them where they were headed...'Cowboy Slims' they replied. They were excited by my oooooooooohhh ya reply. I had my fair share of fun at that bar in my 20's. They had definitely pre-gamed before getting in the car, luckily no one lost their appetite inside on the way. I had Jason Aldean playing quietly when I rolled up, they saw it on the dash screen and said turn it up! So I did and we rocked out like teenagers all they way there. I can only assume their night went similar to most of mine back then...get drunk and try to pick up chicks. Hopefully they got home alright.

I am excited and eager to try out Lyft soon as I have heard the pay is better and they treat their drivers better. But I have yet to see it for myself. I will let you know the results after a few trips.

Have you ever driven with Uber or Lyft? What was your experience like?

Thanks for reading and Steem on!

pic 1

pic 2

Sort:  

I drove for Uber for 2 years back in 2014 and 2015 at first it was damn good money but then in 2016 uber and lyft had a price war and the price went so low that now I do other types of work through Task Rabbit (not a ride share) and can set my own prices.

I live in San Francisco where this technology was first born and it has been interesting to see it evolve. So as an uber driver I took more than 4000 rides and have to say I met a lot of cool people and learned a lot about things I never really thought about.

The most Interesting ride was with a vet who served in Iraq and went on and on about how sorry he was for taking innocent lives. I tried to console him the best I could. At one point he asked me to stop at a gas station and when he got back he said "man I really trust you I left my back pack with my gun in your car, I never do that" . I didn't know what to say but felt he already regretted taking peoples lives and most likely I was safe. So I played it cool and tried to be as positive of an experience for his day as possible. Right before we arrived at his destination he asked to stop at the ATM and when he came back gave me 20 bucks and told me thanks for being awesome and I drove him 2 blocks to his address and he got out and left

any way have fun and stay safe

Damn dude, that's an intense story. I probably would have tried to do the exact same thing. Calm, cool, collected, console. That's awesome that he saw his time over there for what it really was, and was cool being open with you and trusting you. Good on ya man! Hopefully he hasn't succumb to the 22 per day vets that off themselves daily statistic.

yeah I hope he worked things out in his mind and made his life better for himself. He seemed like a good dude

My sister and I used Uber to get a lift from a car rental place to the train station in St. Cloud, but that was my first experience with ride-sharing from any perspective. If I can get my car running properly, I wouldn't mind trying driving for one or the other.

Nice! What did you think? Was your driver a talker, or silent? As a driver, I feel it's a lot like KYC when it comes to opening your mouth or not.

I thought the sign up process would be pretty easy, but it took a lot longer than I thought. You need a specific car inspection (which you pay for) and you need to submit all your cars info like the plates, insurance, DL, and a background check which for me took 2 weeks for some reason.

I was too tired to be very chatty, but my sister was not. The driver chatted quite a lot with her.

The bartender comparison is apt. You really do meet a ton of different people!

Right?! Which one have you driven for? And for how long? Pros/cons?

I have not. It was merely an observation based on your stories.

Ah, gotcha! :)

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.36
TRX 0.12
JST 0.039
BTC 69735.97
ETH 3533.64
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.72