Yeah, um, The Trends Are Not Good.
What's different now from earlier waves of the epidemic is the nature of pickups. I'm still getting a reasonable number of passengers, which has allowed me to qualify for bonuses -- critical for getting this out of minimum wage range -- but it's commuters now. Warehouse work off hours, restaurant workers dealing with take out orders, grocery shoppers, and the occasional train traveler. We're working. For now.
What's missing? College students. Drinkers. Travelers. Mall shoppers. People out for a good time, and doing the responsible thing by letting a professional drive, so they can imbibe without worry. And without those folks (and, well, their greater propensity to tip, and their numbers to create surge price), the potential for lucrative hours evaporates, and you just have to work longer, for less per hour, to make what you need to make.
Anything else missing? Sure. Conversations. Tips. Surge zones. Efficiency.
But also? My ratings are going back up. People are wearing masks again. They also seem more appreciative of the cleanliness standards and the complementary sanitizer.
And also... no one knows how much longer the pandemic is going to last, or if there's going to be a flurona or deltacron swerve. But the people in my car?
They are going to work. Because they have to. Same as me. Until this thing gets a lot deadlier, now that we know more and have vaccines and masks and an understanding of how it travels.
And also, no one's thinking about stimulus checks and unemployment compensation or anything else coming to save us.
Finally, every cough, every sniffle? Met with suspicion. And whenever it's not too bitterly cold, a little bit wider opening of my window.
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