Wednesday, September 23, 2020

09/23/20

 I just discovered that Google tracks me most of the time.  I searched through the archive back to days when I drove rideshare and the mapping of the places I went was all over the place.  This would be expected of course, but it is crazy to actually see it illustrated. 

Sunday, September 13, 2020

09/12/20

Vacuumed the vehicle for thr first time since I stopped driving with Uber.  It wasn't too bad but certainly needed to be done.

Sunday, August 9, 2020

08/08/20

 As I was throwing business cards into the recycle container from two recent businesses I have been associated with, I discovered some business card from FARE when I drove ridesharing for them.  This prompted me to look in the back of my vehicle and see if the magnetic signs were still back there.  They were.  These magnetic signs came in very handy at night in helping the riders more easily locate the vehicle.  The signs are fairly large at about 2' wide by 18" tall.  When a rider would say that they couldn't see me, I knew that they were either blind as hell, stupid as hell, or lying out their ass in trying to work around the cancellation fee.  Anyone with eyeballs would not miss these signs.  The business card photo looks the same size as the magnetic sign photo below but that was certainly not the case.

FARE had office space next to the Four Seasons Hotel and if I ever needed anything from them I could just take a few minutes and walk down there from work.  They were very helpful in this respect but not so much in helping me work with the riders to insure they were happy with their ride.

Also included below is the first e-mail that I received from Fare, and the last e-mail that I received from them.  FARE was more expensive than the others and they made it clear that they were not going to be part of "the race to the bottom" with prices, when Uber and Lyft returned to Austin.  They were not willing to compete and the only advantage they had was the ability for riders to save their favorite drivers in the app and be able to request that specific driver in the future.  Of course the ability for that to function depended on whether or not that specific driver was online when the rider needed a ride.  It wasn't really much of an advantage as I was on multiple riders list and never had a rider specifically request me.  I  had already stopped rideshare driving when FARE left as my vehicle at the time was no longer what I felt comfortable transporting people with.







Tuesday, August 4, 2020

08/04/20

As someone who has been a rideshare driver for several years, I can certainly relate to the recent shooting incident in Austin that resulted in the death of a protester.  I have driven into downtown as festivals or events were ending and there are people everywhere.  You turn a corner and you are in it with no way to get out.  The protesters, being in their single-minded state, do not realize this.  I have seen multiple videos and read multiple articles of vehicles that accidently get caught in a protest and are forced to defend themselves against protester's aggressions.  That is when people, usually the protesters, start getting hurt.  

Being a protester does not automatically protect a person from being a dumb-ass.  All of the yelling and signs-on-a-stick, are not going to protect a protester, or anyone, from vehicles or bullets.  The protester has to shed the single-mindedness and be aware of their surroundings so they can understand what is going on, what their own body movements could be signaling, and what could be developing around them, to keep themselves safe.

Any driver should be aware of what activities are going on in the areas where they could be driving.  I can say that Uber has been good about posting events although I do not know if this event was posted as I have not regularly been on the app.  Regardless, there are resources that can be reviewed before starting to drive so that a driver is aware beforehand of what may be encountered and does not become a dumb-ass driver.  I have seen plenty of those out there.  (12/14/19 post)  They can't even park their vehicle in an empty K-mart parking lot but they think they are qualified to drive in downtown Austin during rush hour or on a Friday or Saturday night.  (before the pandemic)

Everyone should understand themselves, what they are doing, and what is going on around them so that they don't do dumb-ass things.
  




Wednesday, July 22, 2020

07/22/20

I guess it is safe to say that I am refusing to let this blog die.  I still hold on to hope that one day I will be able to return to the streets in the middle of the night.

In my never-ending job search, I came across a job at Hertz for a Maintenance Manager.  Obviously this is maintenance on vehicles and is not exactly what I have been doing for the past 35 plus years, but it may be close enough.  I adjusted my resume to reflect my early days in hotels when we also had to manage the maintenance to the guest transportation vehicles.  I also included my days of driving a truck and at working for the highway department where I also had to coordinate the maintenance for that.  Of course I included my time as a rideshare driver as well, including the stats that are easily obtained from the Uber site.  That was another reason that made Uber so inviting.  Helpful data was there and available.  Obtaining this same information from the other 2 companies I drove for while Uber was gone, Get Me and Fare, was limited.  Here are the stats

- 4.5 years as an Uber driver so far.  Technically, I am still activated on the platform.  It is also important to note that even when Uber was "gone" from Austin, they remained active in the surrounding areas.  I actually did several rides for Uber in the areas of Cedar Park and Round Rock during that time period.

- 1,369 rides for Uber

- 4.97 Satisfaction Rating.  It stayed at 5.0 for a very long time.

- $14,436 driving for Uber

- $226.56 driving for GetMe.  I knew it wasn't much but I thought it was more than that.

- $3,482.55 driving for Fare.  I had signed up for GetMe and Fare at about the same time but was able to get processed through GetMe first as they did not require a review of the automobile by a mechanic.  Immediately afterwards I received a call from Fare.  The caller had a voice like "Puddy", the guy that played Elaine's boyfriend in Seinfeld (Patrick Warburton) and the conversation went like this.

Fare, "when are you going to start driving?" 
Me, "as soon as I get the vehicle reviewed by a mechanic." 
Fare, "can you do it soon we need some drivers?" 
Me, "lol, okay.  I am surprised to receive this call."  "I will get going soon." (I am still laughing to myself because of who he sounds like)

You have to know the voice I am referring to or there will be none of the intended humor.

- 71.5 miles was the longest trip.  Corsicana Texas to Garland Texas.

- $75.00 approximate highest earning single trip.  The one from Corsicana was $73.76 but I believe there was one with GetMe that might have been a few dollars higher.  The GetMe ride was a group of bikini-clad females leaving Lake Travis and going to the Residence Inn on 4th street.  Just in case you were wondering who the riders were and what they were wearing.

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

07/07/20

I never took many pictures while rideshare driving.  There wasn't time and many probably would not want to be photographed.  Plus, the phone was already in use with the rideshare app.  Here are the only ones that were taken.

The first one was a very common sight when going through downtown heading North on Congress Street.

The second one was mentioned in one of the posts.  After dropping off the rider, I drove up on someone selling lemonade on the sidewalk and stopped to get some.  This was out past Leander off of highway 183 almost to the intersection of 183 and 29 near Liberty Hill.  There were only a handful of times that I made it out that far on that side of town.

Photo number three is also mentioned in a blog post.  I do not like pets in the car but was always accommodating to the riders.  This one was well behaved even when his owner left him with me for about 10 minutes while he went into the bank to get money so he could recover his car that had been towed.  This was in the Lakeline area and the drop off was almost to the airport.  I had to stop and clean the dog hair out of the car after the ride and THAT is why I don't like animals in the vehicle.

The last one was a picture of a property for sell in Round Rock or Georgetown, by a realtor friend of mine.  I posted the photo on Facebook, prompting a brief exchange of pleasantries between us.

That is all.  More than four years of driving and these are the only photos that I took.





Friday, July 3, 2020

07/03/20

I gave a friend a ride to down south of Austin yesterday and that was the closest thing to an Uber event that I have had since I stopped driving several months ago.  It was, in a sense, a rideshare type of ride but it was not an "Uber" ride.

The latest update from Uber discussed earnings averages of the drivers.  The information stated that they were averaging $20.00 an hour which I thought was pretty damn good especially considering the situation.  There were a few nights that I only made it to a $10.00 an hour average but not very often.  I usually ran more towards the $30.00 an hour range.  The update also shared rider demand information.  It was not a surprise but did further deepen the sadness felt about downtown as the information and the accompanying map showed that most of the demand was in the Round Rock area.  No indication of any demand in downtown.  Before, there would be so much demand in downtown that the area on the map in the app would be such a deep red color that it was almost black.  Red of course indicating a very high demand.  Its just sad.  The soul of downtown Austin is gone.

Saturday, June 13, 2020

06/09/20

I was attending an event that was only a few miles from downtown so I decided to make a quick pass through downtown.  It was going to be the first time I had been downtown in a couple of months.

"I should not have done this," was my first thought as I exited the freeway and could already see and feel the sadness.  I could see the indicators of the protests that had been taking place including the barricaded police station.  I turned onto 6th street and observed what appeared to be an abandoned town.  There was no one.  The bars and restaurants were all boarded up and the inevitable tagging had taken place.  Businesses closed, no one in the cafes and restaurants, none of the usual foot traffic from all of the office buildings, hotels and restaurants.  No scooters, no taxis, and no Ubers.  The only activity was around the construction sites.  I turned on Red River to get towards Caesar Chavez street.  As I passed the Fairmont I could see people setting inside at what appeared to be a restaurant.  That was a little encouraging but a very far cry from the quantity of people that would usually be seen.  I turned right on Caesar Chavez and headed for Mopac.  I had seen enough.

The contrast to what downtown was before, is saddening.  Downtown is dead.  I sincerely hope that it can be revived and that the vibe that was always in the air before, can return.  I can now say with 100% certainty that there will not be a big rideshare demand for some time.  I had stated with optimism before that I would continue rideshare driving once everything returned to normal, thinking that normal would be in a matter of a couple of months at the most.  That simply cannot happen.  I wont say "impossible" although I probably should.

It is very likely that this will be the last entry in this blog.  It is unfortunate but I can say that it was interesting and fun.  It made a lot of stories, in fact, the only thing I regret is that I did not start doing the blog sooner.  When reading this blog, be sure and click on the older dates as well.  I noticed that those don't always expand out so they can be selected for reading.  There is a lot of stuff spanning several years.

Thanks for reading and I am hoping that this is not the end although its nice to know that every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

05/19/20

I just updated my profile on LinkedIn by putting an ending date for driving with Uber.  I had to do that so it would show further down the experience list and allow my last hotel job to show higher on the list.  As it currently  stands, the last ride I performed was on January 30th, 2020.  I will also be cancelling the rideshare insurance tomorrow.  No need in paying $60 a month when I am sure that I wont be needing it for a while.  The intention is for this to only be temporary but it may be an extended type of temporary.  I would certainly rather be driving and sharing experiences with the riders.

Friday, April 3, 2020

04/03/20

I just opened the Uber rider app.  They are out there.  There were 6 in this area.  I cant beleive there is enough business out there that would make it worth the risk of being exposed to the virus.

Friday, March 20, 2020

03/20/20

I had slowed down my driving due to a hurting shoulder that made it extremely uncomfortable while driving.  Just when that was coming around this damn virus thing started becoming an issue.  I wasn't in a hurry to drive thinking this would soon pass.  This is not going to pass soon.  It is bad and is going to alter the way we live our lives, possibly forever.  The alteration could be for the better or it could be for the worse.  I am optimistically hoping that by the end of May, we will know.  Once this does pass, I anticipate a very high demand of rideshares as people will feel the freedom.  As long as I do not fall victim to this intruder, I will be there with the app a blazin'.

With that, I will close out this journal entry with the hope that the next entry will be one of liberation, celebration, and fascination.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

01/28/20

I needed to get out for moment so I turned on the app.  Within 5 minutes I had a request.

Picked up some ladies at Moonshine in Avery Ranch.  A conversation about some of the shows they had all been to broke out.  That conversation then focused down to Bon Jovi and the timelessness of the band.  I had to interject myself into the conversation and share my exposure as well.  Bon Jovi and Ratt, probably about 1984 or 85 ish.  Fun conversation.

01/26/20

I was picking up in Pearson Place at Avery Ranch.  The destination popped up and in one of those moments of random and unexplained outbursts, I blurted out COAST TO COAST MOPAC STYLE!  The trip appeared to be from one end of Mopac to the other which is what prompted the outburst.  Of course as we got closer to the destination and the map was zoomed in more, I could see that we weren't even going to make it to Slaughter.  Fortunately for me there is not a way for rhe rider to select "dork" when they rate the ride.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

01/23/20

Many of the posts that I have left begin with an insinuated expression of joy for a trip that is going downtown.  Today, upon picking up the riders and seeing where the trip was going, I cringed at the downtown destination.  It was still early enough in the evening that traffic was going to be horrendous.  The riders were aware of that and away we went.  With the exception of short sections of 183 and Mopac, it was horrendous.  It was like the beginning of the movie Office Space without the old guy and his walker.  Instead of the old man, there was a more sinister critter making light of my lack of velocity that I was experiencing.  There were several times I looked out the window to see a skinny mosquito-looking insect flying up and down and all around.  It would zip ahead of me slightly and then zip back to the window.  I think I could actually see its eyes looking at me with an expression of "c'mon slow poke.  Is that all you got?"  Then it would fly ahead only to return and look at me again with an expression of, WTF dude.  I hope I splattered his skinny little butt all over my windshield once I finally got up to speed.

Once I dropped the riders off at Terry Black's BBQ, I immediately put in my home address to start working my way back home.  Before I even made it back to Mopac I received another request and although it took me to the south, the rider was heading north taking me about halfway home.  The app was directing me along one path and the map was showing another path.  By the time I figured out what was going on I had passed the exit and then it corrected itself leaving me on a path to be taking the rider on a longer ride.  I apologized to the rider and explained what had happened.  She strongly assured me that all was fine and that I should not worry about it but I was determined to put forth some form of an effort to fix the error.  I came up with the idea to turn on Google Maps and plug the destination address in to there.  Once that was done and Google Maps was tracking my location and directing me to the destination, I completed the ride on the Uber app so it would stop charging the rider.  I had explained to her what I was up to and she again told me that I should not worry about it.  I did it anyway and at the drop off let her know what I had done and apologized again.  As I was about to get onto the ramp to 183 from Lamar I noticed a tip had been posted.  It was from the rider and the tip made up any of the savings that I had gained her.  I smiled and stated out loud that she definitely wanted me to know that she was okay with the issue that had occured.

I made it home without any more requests and turned off the app, missing out on a $3.00 bonus by getting 1 more ride.  It could have easily been a $150 night but I am beat down for the day.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

01/11/20

So I discovered that Corsicana does have Uber coverage via the Waco area.  I turned on the app to start grabbing the rides but after an hour, there had been NOTHING.  I turned on the rider app to see how many other drivers were out there.  There I was, all alone on the map.  I zoomed out to about a 90 mile radius.  There I still was, setting in the middle of a sea of no one divided only by the multiple lines representing asphalt laden vehicle paths.  Maybe its the colder weather.

We were playing dominos when it happened.  A rideshare request in Corsicana!  It took a while to accomplish the pick up and then, upon starting the ride, I was pleasantly surprised to see a destination in Garland Texas.  Going to have to stop for gas and the rider was okay with that.  This was going to be my longest ride since I have been driving for Uber or any of the others.  The previous record holder was a ride with Get Me (while Uber was not in Austin) and it was from Lake Travis Volente area to the Marriott Courtyard downtown.  Possibly one from downtown to Georgetown but this one would out do them all.

Surprise Dallas!  I'm back!  Unexpectedly so, but here I am.  Upon dropping off in Garland I had immediately set my destination for Corsicana but I was Northeast of downtown Dallas so I was expecting several rides as I worked to get back to Corsicana.  My expectations became reality.  

The app had me picking up at an Applebees that was not there.  I was able to text the rider and they told me that they were across from Target.  No Target anywhere in sight.  I quickly opened the Google Maps app and typed in Target.  The first one on the list  was on the same street that I was on so  I selected it.  There it was on the map about a mile away.  Also indicated on the map was Applebees, right across the street.  I pulled up right as the rider was asking if they should get a different Uber.  From there we had an awesome conversation all the way from Rowlett to Garland.

I used to work in this area.  The hotel had a different name and things looked a little different but all was recognizable.  I don't miss it one damn bit.

I took a young lady down to Henderson street near downtown.  I didnt know that area was there and there were people everywhere on a 33 degree night.  I was briefly stuck in a repeating cycle for this area and it was a bit difficult to navigate with the activity levels and road construction.  There were some very nice femalescapes to enjoy which made the pick ups in a difficult spot, more bearable. 

I dropped the last riders off near American Airlines Center and that was far enough away to break the chain on Henderson.  From there I zipped through downtown Dallas in a world record time and roared onto I30 at Elm street, which lead me around to I45 where I hit light speed and was gone.  See you next time Dallas.

Turned off the app at Ennis and went to Wal-Mart to get a head of cabbage for Charlie.  Will get some more gas after I wrap up  the night with a number 21 at the Whataburger on I45 in Ennis Texas at 2:30am.

01/10/20

Finished getting the vehicle serviced in Round Rock and headed out to .near Hutto to return some rental radios from work.  Turned on the app at about 10:30am and got a request just a few minutes later.  This was a young man that worked at Sonic and was very enthusiastic about his job.  He shared with me the various specials and other things they regurlaly have going on and we ended up talking about management where I provided some quick advice.  Good rider and it turned out to be the only one for the day.