Passenger Tips: Don't Save Five Stars For Marriage

Eyes On The Prize
Are you like me, Dear Reader, and possessing of a certain disdain for modern rating systems? Does giving a perfect rating for a service that isn't perfect just rankle, since it means that you can't really go the extra mile for truly exemplary service?

Well, um, please just stop. We've lost this fight, folks, and it's really not a good hill to die on. Here's why.

When you see my star ranking, what you are seeing isn't the entirety of my service, or the accumulated wisdom of all of the people who have ever been in my car.

Instead, you are seeing the rankings from the last 100 people who have taken a trip with me, and those rankings have to be 4.6 or better to say in the world, basically.

Now, this hasn't been a problem for me to date. (Why? I might be good at this, I offer amenities that other drivers don't offer, and maybe I've just gotten lucky so far. Ask me again in a few thousand rides.)

But when the sample data is cut down to just the last 100, it's really not going to take much to put me in jeopardy. Which is why the system is the way it is because Lyft doesn't want any of their drivers to get complacent.

Let me be perfectly clear about this. I'm not asking you to give me five stars to keep me in the system. But what I am asking is that if you choose to deduct stars, Have A Reason. Possibly with some typed feedback. Give me something I can work on to get better, rather than punish me because you are saving that fifth star for some future Magic Ride...

Story Time: Women Like That

Yay, America
I'm rolling out of San Jose when I get a ping for a shared ride. The pick up point is a motel, and in walk two women from Kazakhstan. (Or, at least, they tell me they are, and why would you lie about something like that?) I confirm their destination (the Dragon Gate in San Francisco), and we're on our way for the next hour or more, with weeknight traffic.

My passengers speak many languages, and English isn't in the first few of them, but we get along well enough. They are wildly curious about America and the Bay Area, and want to know where to eat, what to do, is Trump really crazy, and so on, and so on. They are also incredibly excited about being in the United States, having wanted to come here their whole lives.

In short, they are totally adorable, and talking to them is just the best. My own politics are left of America and moderate to the Bay Area, which means that in this time, it's easy for me to forget the good points about this country. But these charming young women are so excited to be here, and so endearing, I'm ready to change my mind about the whole place. We've got In N Out Burger! And the Embarcadero! And the Presidio! And great weather, and smart young people. Yay, America!

But, well, it's a shared ride. And there are Rideshare Gods, and the Rideshare Gods are generally funny. Which means that after about thirty minutes of driving, I get another ping from the app. Which isn't something that I can just ignore, Because Money, and because ride share drivers need to keep the acceptance rates up to stay in the system.

So I pull off 101 in San Mateo, and roll on up to my pick up point...

Aladdin Bail Bonds.

Oh, Lord. I don't pray often or much, but I'm praying... please don't be clients. Just work there. Or just use it as a landmark.

But, well, the Rideshare Gods are funny... and as I pick up to get my two new passengers (because Lyft sells every seatbelt, and considers my hatchback to seat four plus the driver, which is at least one too many but so be it), I tell them the same thing I've told the other four thousand plus passengers I've picked up.

Namely that there is water in the seatback pocket behind the driver, there are breath mints and cough drops in a handy little dish that they can have, and as a very small entry to a conversation if they want it, how's your day going?

One of my two newbies than says something I've never heard before, and hope never to hear again.

"Not so good. Just got out of jail."

I blink, try to ignore the vinyl record scratch moment that's playing in the eventual movie treatment of this experience, and try to roll with it. "Well. Thanks for sharing. Hey, we have guests to this country! They are from Kazakhstan, and they are looking for recommendations on what to do while they are in the area. I haven't lived here for most of my life, so where do you think they should go?"

Hint. Stop talking about jail. Good freaking Lord, who talks about jail to people they just met, let alone to someone who is going to carry you around in his own personal car? What kind of people do that? Oh, right, idiot criminals. That's the kind of thing that idiot criminals do...

But bless their hearts, they catch my hint. "Well, lotsa people like Chinatown, but I think you get more for your money in Japantown..."

Which is basically wrong, but what the hey, It's Not Jail. One of my original passengers looks sideways and contributes, "Are there... any places... ve should not go?"

Excellent question! Easily answered by a simple list of wherever these winners have been, honestly, but they don't take offense. "Well, some parts of Oakland are still kinda rough..."

And away we go, back up Highway 101 for about five to ten minutes of remarkably awkward conversation as I try to just focus on the road to make sure we can get these winners to where they are going to go, as they are getting out first. The destination turns out to be a really seedy motel near the airport, so there's really no need to ask why they were in jail earlier in the day, yes? Yes. But you gotta give it up for the work ethic, and for getting right back on the horse. So to speak.

I drove the winners off, bang a U-turn, and get back to 101 as quick as I can. The car is now quiet for an uncomfortably long period of time, and I'm missing the Yay America vibe... but I'm not quite sure how to get past the train wreck we just dropped off. "Well... that was... colorful?"

Which gets the tired little response of "Yes, ve haf women like that in our country too..."

Driver Side: I only drive for Lyft. Here's why.

Yeah, Um, No
I've been driving for Lyft exclusively since I started in February 2017... and I've only ever driven for Lyft. (Mercifully, after they stopped doing the furry pink mustache nonsense, seen at right. That looks like ass when new, so I can't imagine how bad it looks after it gets road miles, dirt and bugs into it.)

I've probably left some time and money on the table with this decision, and passengers ask me all the time why I only do the single service. So let's get into it.

> Inertia. When I started, Uber didn't allow tipping in the app, didn't require background checks in my home state, and just seemed, well, icky. Now they do allow tips, do background checks (as far as I know), and have tried very hard to get back on the good graces of PR Hell...

But, well, inertia.

> Feminism. I don't claim to be the world's best -- I'm a cis white guy in my late '40s, for heaven's sake; that Venn diagram and Great Feminist is damn near mutually exclusive -- but I do what I can. And, well, Uber's track record with women is kinda horrifying.

> Temptation. I don't need every single possible cent from this, but I can get obsessive... and one of the biggest reasons why you sign up for both services is to beat the daily hour limit by toggling off both services. Driving gets unsafe when you are severely fatigued, and having the app turn off is sometimes a great artificial barrier to keep you from bad choices.

> The people. Maybe I'm romanticizing this a bit, but many Lyft passengers represent as genuinely nice and interesting people, to the point where I actually look forward to the shift some days. More on that in other posts.

> Simplicity. Rideshare driving is kind of complicated at times, what with strategic positioning, trying to outthink traffic patterns, determining when to "spend" your non-accepts, and so forth. I'm also usually trying to slate in gym time and a bathroom. So toggling between apps isn't a win.

Now, am I totally in the tank for Lyft, and would never consider going to the Uber side? Of course not. My responsibility is to my family, not the app. If demand dries up and I can't make my nut, I'll change my ways. Lyft does a lot to show progressive political leanings and kinder/gentler ways, but at it's core, it's a business. What I do for them is also one. It's worked out well so far, but they have to keep producing for me, and I have to keep producing for them. You know, like any business relationship.

Final point... if you are a passenger, especially one in a place where coverage is scattershot, am I really expecting you to be Lyft exclusive?

Hell and no.

To date, you are only going to get me as your driver with Lyft. But I totally understand that you need to get to where you are going first...

Driver Side: Is It Worth It?

Cons: Chalk Dust
You might have noticed the recent study that pointed out that most rideshare drivers aren't making minimum wage. Also, that many of them are actually losing money, given vehicle depreciation costs.

This kind of thing gets a lot of legs in the media, because disruptive tech and rideshare vehicle congestion isn't exactly the most public relations friendly sector right now. Besides, that kind of story will always get coverage.

Now, I'm certain that there will be a wide range of outcomes here, because my own range varies a ton. There are hours when I'm probably not making back my operating costs. There are other hours where everything works, and I get to my target with speed.

But what I can tell you is that if you aren't operating under the following conditions, you are much less likely to turn a profit on this.

> Paid off car.

The mileage that you'll burn on the side hustle is, well, a lot. I'm on the hook for 45K a year on my insurance, and that's right in line with where I'll wind up. If you've got a monthly payment on a long-term loan, you're going to burn that car up before you get done the payments. Which leads us to the next and very obvious point...

> You get good miles per gallon.

I drive a Honda Insight hatchback, which just might be the ideal rideshare car. It gets around 40 mpg, it fits in every side alley and lets me do all of the U-turns and squeezes through traffic you could hope for, and the hatch means that people can put things in and out of the trunk without too many issues. It's not the kindest car to tall people, but most rideshare passengers aren't giants, and those that are don't tend to summon ordinary cars.

> You are in a densely populated area.

Rideshare driving is an occupancy game; the less time you spend without a passenger, the better. Sparse areas can be occasionally lucrative, because long rides are occupied hours, but the time you spend getting the next rider is unpaid.

> You inspire tips.

When you enter my car, you get the option to take a small bottle of water, cough drops and breath mints. I'm also OK with catering the radio or iPod to your preference, happy to share some of the content that you see on this blog, and so on. It's a long day driving, and I've got a service mindset. In short, I tend to inspire tipping, especially when the hustle is going well.

This doesn't mean that most people tip.

The plain and simple fact of rideshare is that it's a service that's often utilized by people who are avoiding public transportation, or don't have the funds for their own car. That's not exactly a prime market for disposable income, and it doesn't have to be. If I'm occupied for the majority of an hour, my rate is going to be acceptable. So even in optimal conditions, in a region where incomes can run high, tipping isn't likely to occur more than 10-15% of the time. (I have to think this is lower than what cabbies make, but that's totally besides the point.)

However, the people who do tend to tip me take hours out of my week, and really can turn the economics around.

If you do rideshare for a good chunk of time and never get tipped, you might want to adjust your practices. Or find another hustle, honestly.

> You itemize, well, everything.

I won't get into the guts of this, but thanks to a long time working as a consultant with a wife who is also a musician, I've been with the same accountant for a long time. It's worth it to me. Besides, it really isn't hard to keep track of automotive expenses. Just tuck a notebook into the glove compartment and use it for gas and repairs. Helps with keeping track of how your car is doing on miles per gallon, too.

> You get lucky.

Honestly, rideshare money is all about the luck of the draw. The big long ride to the airport, which pairs to the big long ride to the city, which fires off hours of drops where you are near the next passenger. The key to keeping sane is to note when things go your way, and try to remember them as well as when it's the other direction.

Because, well, it's going to go in the other direction. A lot...

Story Time: The First To Know

Only Not Light Bulbs
Shared ride ping in Oakland. I roll on up to a happy young woman who is practically vibrating with excitement to get in the car. She sits in the front seat. I give her the usual intro (water, cough drops, breath mints, destination). She confirms the address, and tells me that she's really been looking forward to taking a ride, because...

Since I am a total stranger, and someone she isn't ever going to see again...

It's totally safe and beyond the touch of all superstition for her to tell me, first among all humans on the Earth...

That she's pregnant.

For the first time, overjoyed to be so, but barely a month into it and doesn't want to tell anyone in her world, because it's Too Soon and Bad Luck and all that.

I congratulate her, tell her a little about what to expect from my understanding of it (father of two)...

And share her good news with the next two people in the shared ride.

Because it's not as if they are going to tell anyone she knows, either...

Single moms have things to get done

 The ping comes from the Wal-Mart, a five minute ride on a weekend when I'm trying to rack up a bunch of short rides for a bonus, so not...