======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
Being a Lyft driver has really opened my eyes to the world. It’s amazing what kind of different people you can drive around all weekend and realize live in the same city as you.
More importantly it’s a service that pays me weekly and helps supplement my income as a recent postgrad trying to make ends meet until my full-time gig starts in October. With that being said, here’s a few tips from your Lyft driver.
What I Notice
Yes, I can see and hear you drunkenly making out with your date in the back of my car. No, you are not smooth at all when it comes to being drunk in the back of my car. No, I have not yet been privy to worse extracurricular activities than some smooching and I hope that continues to be the case for the foreseeable future. Let’s not cross a line here people.
Seat Choice
I could care less where you choose to sit in my car. Front passenger seat. Back seat to have some privacy. It’s all the same to me. I’m just trying to get through your ride just as smoothly as you are. The same can be said as it relates to conversation: I’ll be pretty welcoming to you when you get in but if you’re not feeling it, go ahead and not keep the conversation going.
Music/Playlist
I’ve been playing some pretty generic music thus far while driving and will continue to do so until someone asks me to turn the music down or change my playlist. If you ask, I’m more than happy to accomodate you and if not then looks like we’re listening to 1980’s hits from some random Spotify playlist (I’ve found it has the most range as it’s considered good music for older people riding and lit “oldies” music for my fellow millennials).
As someone who’s usually doing four to six hour shifts driving around, you can imagine the hot club hits and even my own selected playlists are going to get old fast. I’ve turned to comedy specials on some nights to mix it up and I must say the reception has been very positive. Looks like John Mulaney, Tom Segura, Mike Birbiglia, and more are here to stay. Might turn to some RBP episodes pretty soon too so if you’re in Austin and get the driver playing some Micah reading rap lyrics give me a shoutout.
Directions & Driving
Ah, the really important stuff! Your driver’s directions and driving can leave even the best of us in a bad mood. We’ve all been there before.
Let’s get this straight: 100% of the time, when I pick you up, I’ve got no fucking clue where you’re going unless you tell me. You know why? Because my directions app immediately jumps to what I’m supposed to do next, whether it’s cross two lanes of traffic to turn left when I’m in the right lane or go back straight from the way I came on a single-lane two-way street that’s gonna take an extra 5 minutes to get around because you’re downtown. Work with me here.
Most of the time I don’t see the name of the bar, restaurant, or store you’re trying to get to until that is literally the stopping point in whatever shopping center or bar district we’re in. Even when we get close to the destination and you’re trying to go to, say, Chili’s or Name’s Bar/Restaurant, I’m still only seeing the address. Help a guy out and point out where we’re stopping when we get close or where you’re okay with being dropped off.
The directions app, no matter which one I’m using, sucks. As someone who doesn’t know the technology behind it, I assume the route it’s generating is the middle point between maximizing a driver’s (and effectively your app of choice’s) earnings and getting you the rider there as soon as possible.
Also, let’s be real here. You do not know where every single restaurant is located in your city, so why should I? I’m defaulting to the directions my app is going to give me 10 out of 10 times unless you speak up and tell me a different or quicker way to get to your destination.
Again, I’m here for you and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had someone misplace their drop-off pin without noticing or telling me and we head off in the wrong direction. For example, having some out of towners drop it on 6th Street in Austin intending to hit up the legendary Dirty or West Sixth and have us end up 15 blocks in the opposite direction of where the bars are located.
As a Lyft user, I’ve been there before and because of that I’m not trying to fuck over my riders and will turn off their fare so they aren’t getting charged up the ass because they weren’t paying attention. But help me out here and just throw out a casual comment about where you’re headed. Worst case scenario and your driver defaults to the app’s directions but maybe you get to your destination quicker, thus cheaper, because you said the relative direction you were going.
The whole ridesharing business is a weird concept. In each other’s eyes, we didn’t even exist until I, as the driver, accepted your ride request. Suddenly, you are a very real and tangible person getting in a complete stranger’s car with qualifications that prove just enough that I’m authorized by the state to operate a motor vehicle and said car has insurance. Pretty thin credentials there.
We’ve made it work thus far though so I say let’s keep it going. People: don’t drive drunk, pop your phone out, and choose the right service. Enjoy your weekend and leave me a five star rating..
Respond
Intern Luke
Micah has me do stuff every once in a while. Usually I just takeover his desk.
@lukas21094
@lukas21094
Once had an Uber driver wink at me in the rear view mirror after I made out with a date in the backseat. Weird move but I respected it.
congrats on the sex
Thanks. Pretty good, IMO.
Intern Luke’s content, as always, is brought to you completely unedited.
As it should be. Dude slays the keyboard
Intern Luke, can you come scoop me sometimes after Baltimore bars?
Or….is that too far for you?
Has anyone thrown up in your car? That would be my biggest fear if I became a Uber/Lyft driver
This would be my fear as well which is why I will 100% make sure to have a puke bucket in the backseat of my car if I ever drive for Uber/Lyft.
No and I’m hoping it stays that way
What’s the difference between uber and lyft? I’ve always been an Uber boi but after my driver tried to go the wrong way on a major freeway service road, I’m thinking about taking my talents elsewhere. I’m really just trying to find a driver that can read “one way only” signs
They’re pretty identical. Some people don’t like Uber because of all the sketchy stuff their corporate pulled, but I don’t care. I use it more than Lyft because they somehow keep giving me promos (50% off on the first $10 of a ride, etc.)
They key with Uber is to never get a ride from someone with under 4.8 stars. Every single time I took one with one of those drivers, I nearly died so I stopped. If I get one below 4.8, I just cancel the ride.
I’ve found Lyft seems to actually care more. Took me 48 hours to get my money back from Uber after a driver straight-up just never picked me up. Lyft took care of the situation immediately, and they also will remove a driver from your “pool” if you rate them low enough.
I agree.
I had a Lyft driver who kept mumbling and glaring at me (she was definitely casting a spell), and she dropped me off 1000ft from our location and I told Lyft in the comments that she was definitely a witch and they refunded me my ride immediately.
I’ve actually had good experiences with Uber CS. When I was in Paris a few weeks back, my Uber driver spent 35 minutes trying to get to my hotel (admittedly, the street layout in that area is atrocious). What was supposed to be a 10 Euro ride turned into a 45 euro ride. I disputed the transaction with Uber on the basis that the driver had bad navigation and they refunded me the difference right away.
Uber is preparing to IPO so they are sending those 50% offs out to get their revenue numbers up no matter what
Too bad their expenses are through the roof and they’re hemorrhaging money out of every orifice.
Here in KC, most drivers do both. They’ll turn on both apps and take whichever fare comes first. Pretty good strategy.
This is what I’ve gathered most drivers do. I only drive minimal hours for extra cash so I only use Lyft thus my acceptance rate and chance of getting rides is better.
Drivers who do both are trying to maximize their time and just get a ride quicker. Since most people use Uber, this usually means getting more pings from Uber but Lyft generally pays the driver more so the option is there to take the Lyft ride. Problem is this method can hurt a driver’s rating or acceptance rate on either app if they’re getting pings at the same time because it means whichever app they ignore, they’re letting that ride go.
Honestly, I have just had a better experience using the Uber App and the Uber drivers. I have given Lyft a chance on three occasions because of some insane promo they were running but I was not a fan of it. Lyft had older and dirtier cars on two of those occasions and one of them the driver took several wrong turns and got on the wrong highway and did not turn the meter off so my ride was double what it should have been.
Service roads in Houston are called Feeders, Only place in the country where it is so 19th – Houston fun fact of the day
I actually call them feeders…I used service roads to avoid confusion with the masses
I hear they call them service roads in…new…No I cant bring that up again..
Pricing and experience (most drivers double up) is usually the same between the 2 but you can earn delta miles with lyft on top of what every credit card points use to pay. That shifted my choice to Lyft.
I drove for Lyft about 20 times when we were stuck with a hefty NICU bill. I had some good conversations but for the most part, I really disliked it.
Any grind bois/ladies out there, if Amazon Flex is in your city, that’s the way to go for a side hustle.
I have to disagree with you here about sitting in the front seat. I think it’s only ok if you have multiple customers in the back seat and someone has to sit in front. But a solo rider who jumps in the front without anyone else in the car, was always a little weird to me. Kind of like an invasion of privacy. You wouldn’t jump in the front seat of a taxi as a solo rider, so why an Uber/Lyft?
I have a friend that sits in the front because she feels safer knowing that it can’t be child locked. A little morbid to think about, but I get it.
Don’t forget that a fair number of people get motion sick if they sit in the back. I would assume invasion of privacy is preferable to puke.
I’m so conflicted on this cause I agree but my friend who used to drive uber said it’s rude if a solo rider gets in the back??
It’s standard for solo riders to get in the back. I think the majority of solo riders will get in the back automatically, maybe a few customers here and there will sit up front. Usually it’s younger college students who do this. I think it’s because they’ve never been a taxi before lol.
I try and do my best not to talk about movies that have come out in the past three weeks when I’m using a rideshare. It seems especially shitty to assume that they aren’t people who want to see The Avengers unspoiled.
This truly was Luke Warm.
If I get into a Lyft (or similar service) and hear RBP, we are going to have to stop at Chipotle for a napkin raid. As the driver you can keep the napkins, just sending a message to them to #CutTheCheck GangGangGang