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- We asked Uber and Lyft drivers the hardest parts about working for the ride-hailing platforms.
- As you might expect, sitting for long hours, and not having any coworkers for juicy office gossip can get old.
- Drivers also have a unique vantage point to the city that other workers might miss. Here’s what they said.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
On the surface, driving for Uber and Lyft is relatively simple: just pick someone up and take them to their destination.
But for full-time drivers on the ride-hailing platforms, there’s plenty more work that goes into making sure they keep a top-notch rating — and that they can entice as many tips as possible.
We asked drivers for the most difficult part of their job. Despite the flexibility that working for Uber and Lyft can offer, many said sitting for long hours can get uncomfortable, as well as a lack of coworkers to socialize with. On top of that, the most lucrative times to drive aren’t always the most convenient.
Here’s what they said (last names have been removed for privacy):
There’s no one to talk to
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"The hardest part for me would be the lack of camaraderie with other drivers," Michael, a driver in Las Vegas, told Business Insider in an email. "I see them as my competition. I wish them well, but just not at my expense."
"So due to my lack of communication with other drivers it does get lonely while on the road; as a result, since I’m driving in Las Vegas, there will be days that I’m not in a good mood and since my passengers are tourists, on vacation having a good time, it can get hard to drive."
Having no insight into fares makes calculating earnings hard
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"The hardest part is when I try to do research into how much of fares we’re actually getting paid and see that it’s a tiny percentage," Kevin, a driver in Chicago, told Business Insider in an interview.
"For example, I asked a passenger last week how much she was getting charged and she said roughly $12. When the ride was over, I received $6.50. It’s almost better to not know what the passenger is paying."
Long hours away from home
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"The hardest part in my opinion is dealing with weather and holidays, when I’d rather be warm at home with my family," Steven, a driver in Kansas City, said in an email.
"But since I know these are good days to work, when there might be a surge or just a lot of people needing rides in general, I like to work."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- This massive 121-ton electric dump truck never uses more energy than it generates on its own — here’s how that works
- Porsche just revealed the interior of its all-electric Taycan sports car, and drivers who hate Tesla’s giant touchscreens will love it
- Uber’s lax ID requirements in Brazil led to people playing ‘Uber roulette’ and sticking up drivers — leading to 16 murders
Source: Business Insider – grapier@businessinsider.com (Graham Rapier)