Had a few rough/long days the last few weeks.  Lyft streak bonuses have been scarce.  Uber surges have been nice.  Both systems seem to be tailoring their bonus structure to getting drivers back on the road between 7pm and 3am – prime time.

Px continue to amaze.  Actually had FOUR cancellations from my first six rides last Saturday.  Stand in the driveway.  Improper addresses.  Bad pin placement.  Story of the month:  20 something AA female complained that while she kinda liked my music I should play more black artists since I was driving in the hood.  The previous three songs had been “When Doves Cry” (Prince), Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer (Nat King Cole), and Birth of the Blues (Sammy Davis Jr.)

Been at this for five months solid.  Previous streak was three.  Ready to go back to school, but prepared to do this for the long haul (no pun intended) if need be.

In other related news, there’s a REASON I do the rideshare thang:  I Don’t Want To Be Anybody’s Employee.  If you do, go get a job.

I’m expecting more drivers on the road soon as this winds down, unless it doesn’t: Congress Is Paying People a Lot of Money To Not Work

I leave the mask thing up to my Px.  if they want me to wear mine I do it gladly.  Here’s why I’ve made that choice:  SAN FRANCISCO MUNI DRIVER BEATEN WITH BAT AFTER ASKING PASSENGERS TO WEAR MASKS.  Tell me I’m wrong.

It was a mistake from the start but became much worse:  New Film Exposes How California’s War On The Gig Economy Was Exacerbated By COVID although the word “film” in the headline does a LOT of work.

 

 

Let’s cover the bad first.

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IS ALWAYS WRONG, EXCEPT WHEN IT’S WOKE: Postmates, Uber Offer Promotions for Black Restaurants, Raising Tough Legal Questions.

Coming soon to a Federal Committee near you: AB5 CONTINUES TO DEMOLISH CALIFORNIA’S GIG ECONOMY: California regulators say Uber, Lyft drivers are employees.

: California Democrats Want Another $20 Million to Enforce Job-Killer AB5. “What California workers and employers need more than ever right now is increased flexibility in order to reignite the state’s job-creation engine. What they’re getting instead is another $20 million in debt so that unelected bureaucrats can wage war on the type of work preferred by nearly 25% of the workforce.”

Worst driving day of the year Thursday. Hit my daily/weekly number but it wasn’t fun. LOTS of short, minimum rides. No bonuses. Some decent food runs. The worst, however, is that th no-shows are back. I had FOUR of them, after having not more than one a week for the last three months.

Lyft seems to giving more bonuses of the “$X for three rides in a row starting at Y o’clock” variety, as well as a few of the “by driving through this neighborhood you qualify for a $Z bonus on your next ride” variety. Continued nice drive-through bonuses from Uber too but vanishing somewhat quickly.

I had thought that pick-up times were dropping but I’m not so sure. Both platforms provided some 15 minute + Px this week. We’ll see. I’m thinking the next bump in drivers comes in August when the federal largess runs out.

Figuring I have at least two more months of driving until demand at schools returns. Still in pretty good spirits but looking fwd to hopefully getting back in the classroom.

The times, they are a changing.

Uber is offering a lot more in the way of surge bonuses. Lyft pick up distances seem to be returning to normal. And Lyft is jumping on the bonus bandwagon itself. Uber is relying on the “drive through this are to qualify for $X on your next ride.” I’ve seen these as low as $2.50 and as high as $10. That’s Sunday through Thursday 9am-5pm. Lyft has been employing a modified version of that tactic with lower bumps in smaller areas, but appreciated all the same. Also deployed by Lyft is the hourly “Three Consecutive Ride” bonus. Most of them start after 8pm and end by 3 am but I’ve seen a few at 9 or 10 am. It’s a nice bump. Can turn three crappy $3 rides into nice $8 rides!

Interesting take here on the Rideshare/unemployment quandry. Not a GREAT article but from a valuable source.

I’m planning on keeping my schedule as the landscape changes, but I’ll keep my eye on the flow. Flipping from Sunday to Friday would be easy if Sunday’s suddenly die. And adding an extra hour or two a few evenings a week to get into the bonuses won’t hurt either. I’ve been able to hit my target driving 5 days a week from 9 or 10 am until around 5, taking a couple hours off for lunch, exercise, and home maintenance. Plenty of room to adjust as needed.

edit to add: Had a 350# passenger complain about my car this week. Was “broken down” she said. I realized the problem was that under the new guidelines virtually EVERYONE sits in the rear passenger side seat. And I realized I’ve been driving a lot of really big people – most to or from medical appointments. So my new disgusting practice is to give them 3 stars, thus ensuring I won’t be linked with them again. Also, I’m gonna hafta start looking for an updated vehicle sooner rather than later.

Happy Trails, and stay safe

A few more observations from the last 10 weeks.

When waiting for a ride stand in the middle of the driveway so we can’t pull in to pick you up. We LOVE that.

Suggestion for platforms: Program in a 15 second lag after rejecting a ride. If I’m trying to go off line and get a gig, I hit reject but often before I can log off you give me another, and another and another. This hoses my stats artificially.

Another suggestion: allow those of us doing Uber Eats to opt out of certain locations. Starbucks, McDonalds and Popeyes are ALWAYS slow and I reject them out of hand. Would be nice if I could just opt out of THOSE.

Lyft riders seem to believe that we don’t really exist until they request a ride. We then materialize outside their door after a random number of minutes. If they don’t show up we de-materialize back into dust.

Uber is now requiring a pic verifying that I’m wearing a mask. Needless to say it’s pretty easily fooled. AND they want us to narc on passengers who aren’t participating in the virtue signaling. I won’t do it. But I’ve heard tales of drivers who have wrapped their cars in plastic wrap and installed plexiglass shields. We each have our own risk tolerance, but some folks are just whackadoodle.

Lyft – Uber pays us for remote pickups. Under the circumstances you should too. Nobody likes driving 20 minutes for a $3 fare. That’s why I’m refusing/cancelling so many of your rides.

It’s been a good ten weeks. I usually start between 9-10 am. I usually hit my daily target by 5 or 6. A few days I’ve gone until 7 or 8 and I’m occasionally done by 4. Still loving the flexibility. Friends have occasionally referred to me as Travis Bickle but I’m feeling a little more like Ernest Borgnine in Escape From New York.

Not EVEN going to get started with Cali (and Mayor Pete’s) proposals to kill off the gig economy. Y’all know I’m a supporter, so there’s that. This is my “busy season.” I have another gig from mid-August through Memorial Day but in the summer I drive. Quite a bit. In June I managed to crack my nut on five days work (from 8 or 9am until 3 or 4p,. then back out around 6 or 7, drive until target hit but NEVER past midnight, usually knocking off by 9.) The first three weeks of July were a struggle. Lost of nights I was out until 11 or 12 and I was driving every day. But THIS week the pendulum swung back and hopefully will stay put for another 3-4 weeks.

After a month or so many passengers name begin to look like a bad Scrabble rack.

Be prepared for OOO: Outrageous Olfactory Onslaught. Bathing in aftershave, or lotion, or hairspray. Or perhaps simply b.o. Or kitchen odors. Believe me, I’ve REEKED of that kitchen smell. I know it WELL.

Request ride. Get in car. Take ride. It’s simple. Actually had a woman stand five feet from my car (the ONLY one in the lot) and call, telling me she didn’t see me. Had another passenger stand outside my car for over four minutes talking on the phone. It’s just RUDE. Get in!! Talk while I drive. I’m good with that. But if I ain’t movin’ I ain’t makin’ money.

Pickup addresses will be wrong (about 5% in Uber, 65% in Lyft.) A lot of this stems from the limitations of GPS. Many addresses in apartment complexes all link to the main entrance or leasing office. Many other large properties (malls, churchs, schools, warehouses) all link to one corner of the property. That “point” will then give you directions to the nearest road, which may NOT be the proper entrance.These are all GPS “errors” and inherent in any developing system. But the USER errors? As Keb Mo sings, that’s a WHOLE nutha thing. I can’t read your mind. I don’t know that 3100 N High is a typo for 1300 N High. Or the E means W. Had a “passenger” send me to his place of employment instead of the restaurant where he had dined – 10 miles away. Check the app after your request to make sure you’ve entered (and it recognizes) the right location. If not – FIX IT! Correct the typo. Or move the pin. Yes, you can do that! Use your opposable thumbs.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. I know I will!

Been kicking some of these around so I’ll blurt them out here and see what happens

Rideshare apps allow riders and drivers to rate each other on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. So far so good. When I first started (as a passenger) I figured 3 was average. Because … it IS. I reasoned if the car gets to me in a timely fashion, delivers me safely to my destination, the car is in decent shape, clean, and the driver is pleasant it warrants a three. If one or two of these things is above and beyond it merits a 4. If everything sparkles I’d give it a 5. Likewise if one or two is BELOW average (surly driver, filthy car, etc.) that drops it to a 2. If medical care or additional cash expense is required it’s a 1.

But that’s not how it works. Starting point is 5. IF ANYTHING is wrong, it’s a 1. On my last 500 Uber trips I have 462 5*, 26 4*, 6 3*, 0 2* and 6 1*. No. Just no. I don’t object to ANY of those ratings … except the 1’s. No tickets. No injuries. No additional expenses. Almost 98% of my rides are 5’s or 4’s. Did I suddenly snap and give a 1 ride just for giggles?

Uber Eats utilizes a thumbs up/thumbs down rating system. I don’t run food very often but my last dozen rides are all thumbs up. Food picked up on time, delivered promptly. All good. Thumbs up.

A few other observations:

We’ll pick you up where you tell us. If you tell us the wrong place, we won’t know. You can move the pin on the screen and it will take us to EXACTLY where you are. If there are multiple possible locations, just send us a quick text telling WHERE in the apartment complex, campus, warehouse facility you are.

Be kinda ready when we get there. Yes you have 3-5 minutes to get into our vehicle. But we do NOT like to sit and wait. And idling with the AC running is no fun either. And if you’re outside waiting for me when I get there (weather permitting) you WILL get a 5*.