Bring on the robots

Yes, This Is Better

So I've been hearing about robot cars for nearly my entire career as a rideshare driver. Seven years of it's happening, your hustle is going away, what do you think about it, etc. And I've covered this before and at length (shorter: tragedy of the commons, filthy cars without human drivers exerting social pressure, generational unease)... but tonight, dear reader? I'm ready to be replaced.

Here's why.

1) The social skills of passengers are in free fall. When I started doing this, very few passengers would play audio on their phone without headphones; now, it's the majority. If they took a phone call, they'd apologize and try to cut it short. Now, they are on the phone for the entire trip... and I think I know why.

The reason, of course, is that they've had some past bad interaction with a driver, or think the driver is going to scam them in some way, either by taking the wrong route, canceling the ride on a multi-stop drive, or give them a bad rating. Maybe they had a driver hit on them. In any event, the safer play is to let the driver know that conversation isn't just unlikely, but actively discouraged. As if I couldn't get the hint, honestly.

2) An ever-dwindling percentage of passengers want the driver to speak, or to speak to the driver. I'm an outlier; I confirm the address, tell the passenger about water and hand sanitizer, and I'm generally done in five to ten seconds... and that's five to seconds too many for a growing percentage of passengers. Yes, seriously.

3) The overall deterioration of discourse in the country. I'm a small white guy with a clean hybrid, and any number of people seem to think they know my politics -- left or right or otherwise -- on sight. It gets tiresome to fight Culture War for low wages. Once the cars are driven by robots, we'll all get to talk to each other less, and that's what we really want, right?

Well, no. 

But I can't push the ocean back with a broom, no matter how many good talks I sometimes pull out of people.

Just say no to shared rides

And clown payment

Now that the pandemic is fading, Lyft and Uber are going back to offering shared rides. These date back to the start of the rideshare industry, and create the situation where strangers ride with other strangers.

Here's why this is bad now, and has always been bad, for drivers.

1) If there are no other passengers on the route, it's just a cheap solo ride, which is to say, sub-survival money for drivers. Don't tell yourself any different. Your driver knows, on some level, that you are paying as little as humanly possible for the ride. It's not as if we're making a bigger percentage on this from any other ride.

2) While I'm sure it's happened at some point in the history of the industry, shared ride passengers don't tip. Not now, not ever. (Go ahead, prove me wrong. You won't.)

3) The vast majority of people who take shared rides are annoyed when... the ride is shared. Especially if they wind up with the short end of the algorithim's decision on who gets to where they are going first. Backseat driving is rampant among rideshare passengers. It's multiplied with shared rides.

4) Passengers are more likely, not less, to make additional demands on the driver (taking the water that's mostly there to inspire tips without tipping, yelling out the window, asking for access to the sound system or a phone charge, changing the temperature or music, changing directions, asking for stops, etc., etc.) on a shared drive.

5) Shared rides are also subject to surge pricing, so these pay as little as possible riders... may be really annoyed at the price.

6) Shared rides mean selling every seatbelt. I drive a small hybrid hatchback. It legally fits five adults. If five adults are in my car, no one will be happy about it.

7) As you might have guessed from the top 6 reasons, your driver isn't in a great head space when you enter the car. It's like you are starting the ride with two strikes on you, so if you aren't ready and waiting in a place where it's safe to stop from the start? We're furious with you. For reasons.

So, given all of that... why do drivers take these rides?

Simple, because we have to. We got unlucky while other drivers, all around us, didn't. Drivers have to take a certain percentage of rides that are offered to them to stay on the platform. We work to stay on the platform, not for the platforms.

If we're chasing a bonus on rides completed, shared rides can almost work out to a decent hour. But that's a pretty rare event and requires driving for one app only, which is also not usually the best way to make a buck.

So, if you're taking a shared ride? Be on time. Be good to the driver. Know that you're working on a 2-strike count. And know that we're looking for any excuse to 3-star you and not take your shared self ever again.

Were the savings worth it?