Uber on and Lyft Up
I have been a Uber/Lyft driver for 3 years now. I have seen the industry grow alot, some good some not so good.
In 2014, My brother told me about Lyft. How I could get out there and make money on my time and on my schedule. I loved the idea. I began to drive of Halloween night. That night was fun with all of the people dressed up and the craziness. It went fine for the time being then Valentines day weekend happened. I was in the area around AT&T park and some guy in a Tesla was getting ready to back up into a parking spot. I had just stopped to let a women out. The guy thought I was taking the spot and backs into me 3 times. I called to report the incident to Lyft and my driving days were over……
In June of 2016, I bought a used car. A White 2011 Chevy Malibu LTZ. I did so with the thought of driving for Uber. It was great in the beginning. I would go on the weekends to San Jose and make 500-800 from Friday night to Sunday Morning. I did my taxes early and found out that I drove 34K miles for Uber, just part time, and this was just 6 months of driving. at that rate I would have driven 68K for an entire year.
In January, I began to drive for Lyft again. I was making more money it seemed. I was getting tipped and making back the 20% I paid them. The in a blink of an eye my transmission started misbehaving. My car has been in the shop for 2 weeks, and its costing 4300K to fix, not to mention the 1k for tires or the 400 for brakes. I have not driven for 2 weeks and it has changed my perspective on what it means to be a driver.
I have spent more time at home, Im not stressed as I was before when I would be driving out of town. I would drive out of town every other weekend and drive for 14 hours at a time. I was so tired that when I did get home I would still do the laundry. I was not worth much the next few days. Driving can give you a very skewed priorities. Mine were very much so and I see that now.
Uber and Lyft make it easy for you to lease a car through one of their companies. As long as you realize that it will be a Camry or Corolla or smaller. I wanted an Avalon and I was laughed at. Again, I am not knocking either company, I want to bring a real light on what it takes and costs to drive for either or both.
I learned along time ago, you cant control Uber/Lyft. You can only control your ride and the experience you provide the rider. Keeping that in mind, I have remembered that how I present myself to my riders is how they will perceive me, with that said, I dress professionally at all times when I am driving for Uber/Lyft. It pays off in the long run. It does not take much to help some one open their door, load their bags into the trunk or even load the groceries. Its all about doing for them what you would want someone to treat you Mom or Dad.
My advice to new drivers and to Veteran drivers as well goes a little like this, Your attitude matters, If you are pissed off before you get behind the wheel, don’t drive as it will show to your riders. The way you look, IE the way you dress and the way you are groomed makes a HUGE difference in the quality of your ride. Going the extra mile and making their ride memorable will make your experience as a driver a better one. Most of all, do not get wrapped up in the GAME of Ubering or Lyfting. Its a great gig but not at the cost of your health or time with your family. God Speed and safe rides.
(darn Greater Hartford speed table…too many) and of course this happened at the tail end of my 1st ever Boost …
