But here's the thing about potholes in my immediate area; I usually only hit them once. If something is especially bad, it logs in the memory and you either try to avoid that street, or treat it gingerly.
Guess where none of that comes into play? A city you don't know very well.
Here's the five towns where I've gotten a flat in the last two years of rideshare.
Newark. Under an overpass, in rain, where the repair guy came out and told me he's at this place all the time. Glad it's working out for you. This came on a Saturday night, during heavy surge pricing. Faboo.
Camden: On the way to Costco, in a neighborhood that was more than a little intimidating, with a car full of people who did not speak a word of English and didn't seem to understand that no, the ride is over, find another way to get where you want to go.
Willingboro: On a very cold night, with a terrible passenger in the car who kept telling me that my car had a jack (it doesn't; hybrids cut the weight as much as possible to save on mileage) despite all evidence to the contrary. That was a truly magical two hours waiting for service.
New Brunswick: A town of personal horrors. Nail in the tire, but at least I found a repair place that was open and got on the road again in an hour. New Brunswick is also the only place where I've ever gotten a ticket while working in rideshare (bullspit cop nonsense where I didn' t know what was going on with a road repair situation, and cut over safely, but seemingly annoyed him), which wound up getting managed away by an attorney referral. Don't just pay the fines, people. Also, don't go to New Brunswick, and if you ever do go there, turn off the apps and leave ASAP.
Philadelphia: Tonight, in Southwest Philly near Grays Ferry, AKA a part of town where nothing good ever happens. While using Destination Mode to try to get closer to my home, because the Rideshare Gods truly suck some of the time.
The commonality of all flat tire experiences is that they have all occured on a weekend, where I'm more likely to expand my zone because I'm taking in a full shift. Which means I'm chasing surge, and under stress, and likely not making my best decisions.
Oh, and there's another commonality: I'm *way* more likely to not take rides to those areas in the future, or if someone takes me there, to turn off the app and drive right the hell out as soon as they are out of the car.
When I worked this side hustle in California, I'd go anywhere, even though I tried to generally stay local, where the fares were higher. But I never had to worry about an app not working out of state, because leaving California was never possible; no one ever asked for a ride to Reno, Vegas, Portland or Mexico. But while some towns and areas had rough roads, it was never as bad as the East Coast, where temperature changes and poorer areas means bad roads here are simply the worst.
Tonight's happened while driving for Lyft, who have gone back to letting the app work for me in PA -- and also, seemingly, constantly dragging me over there. PA roads aren't as good, the lighting is worse, there's more deer and potholes, the base rate isn't as high, and tips haven't been as good. But other than that... well, there's nothing, But I need points during certain hours to stay in the highest ranking on Lyft, so today was the day I was going to grit my teeth and just commit to Lyft for a full shift no matter what... which is when the Rideshare Gods decided to intervene. FML.
Tomorrow, I'll get to my tire guy first thing in the morning (we're on a first name basis now, or at least should be), then try and fail to make up for the prime time half shift I missed. All while just loving the income disparity at local levels that cause the majority of my work to be in places where I'm way more at risk of real damage to my car. It all adds up to a true net that's over 20% lower than what it was two years ago, when inflation is up about 11% in the same time period. So the hustle is 30% less effective than it used to be for the driver, or, at least, this one.
Still wondering why there don't seem to be enough drivers around when you need one?
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