Melissa Ross
As the war between taxicab companies and app-based transportation services such as Uber and Lyft heats up, it’s always fascinating to get the take of one of the foot soldiers in the conflict.
After all, the grunts on the front lines are the ones trudging through mud (actually it’s drunk passengers’ vomit), dodging shrapnel (traffic tickets, usually), and often dealing with some form of PTSD once deployment is done (constant flashbacks to that one horrific carload from Ybor City).
So what do Florida’s Uber drivers really think about those cab company lawsuits across the state against the ridesharing companies? And what’s it really like to work as an Uber driver, anyway? Or Lyft. Are they becoming like Hertz and Avis? I digress.
I decided to find out.
“Uber’s gonna win because the public loves it,” is what one Jacksonville Uber and Lyft driver who works just about every day told me.
Now, Uber drivers come in all shapes, sizes and walks of life, and this is a gross over-generalization, but one emerging meme is that they are smart, educated, and incredibly overqualified for the position. However, for one reason or another, they need to make an extra buck or two in the new “sharing economy.”
Just like the driver I know. Let’s call him “Mark.” Mark is white, middle-aged, and a father. He’s interviewing for several well-paying jobs right now, and prefers to remain anonymous.
His CV is impressive. Mark holds two advanced degrees, including study at the London School of Economics. He moved to Florida from the Northeast with his family, got divorced, then saw the economy crash.
So, like millions of other middle-age Americans with mad skills in a rapidly changing economy, “Mark” is now doing what he has to do to pay the bills. And that includes work driving (sometimes) drunken Uber passengers around town.
“I’ve been doing it for about a year,” he said. “The turnover is crazy, so that’s actually a pretty long time. Most of the time it’s pretty good. The people are nice and I enjoy driving. The only problem comes when you pick up a bunch of drunks at 2 in the morning on Saturday night, they throw up, and you have to pay to get your car detailed. You’re out that cost, and the time you could have spent driving is lost revenue.”
Mark says it’s frustrating that Jacksonville is the lowest-paid Uber market in America. “We get 13 cents a minute, 73 cents a mile,” he said. “And Lyft encourages tipping, while Uber doesn’t. When I drive for Lyft, I always pick up more in tips.”
Not much more, sadly. “This is a minimum wage job, basically. Especially in a market like Jacksonville, which is so spread out geographically.”
When Mark visits friends and relatives in Miami, though, his Uber work is more profitable, he said. “I can work through a whole weekend and really do well down there.”
As to the fight in Florida?
“Look, what’s happening in Broward County is no different than what’s going on with this all over the country. You’re seeing a fight between the entrenched interests, and a better, faster way of doing things. The lobbyists versus the public. Uber goes in, builds up a customer base, and people like it. It’s not possible without smartphones and their GPS. It’s just more efficient than the old taxi dispatch system.”
