More Uber

Ariel gets boosted all day.

I'm an anxious guy. I'm always worried I'll fire up Uber and there will be no cars, or it will take too long for them to pick me up. It's an on demand service, but it's hard for me to believe I can count on it. So hard for me to believe I can count on so much of the modern gadgetry. I come from the sixties and seventies, when everything didn't work right right out of the box. Although we did have manuals. And we were able to get stuff fixed. Now you just throw it away.

So I was shocked to find out I was gonna have to pay a surge fee. You see I keep cutting it closer, learning to depend upon the service, and now I find out I've got to pay x1.5. What's a poor boy to do? Other than play in a rock and roll band? Just bite the bullet and pay up.

But my driver, Allen, told me to just wait a few minutes. That usually in three or four the surge disappears. Although at that very moment, 1 PM, it was x2 in Northridge. What's happening in Northridge?

Possibly lunch. Lunch is a very busy Uber time.

And what Allen also told me is drivers don't know the destination. Otherwise they'd pick and choose rides, wanting to go as far as possible as opposed to a few short hops.

Allen used to work at Dolby, as a troubleshooter. But there just wasn't enough upward mobility. He's now driving Uber full time.

As was Ariel. He gave up a job at Samy's Camera for the same reason. Used to be you could pay your bills working for the man, now you just can't get ahead.

Allen doesn't leave the house unless it's surge pricing.

Ariel made $1300 driving 42 hours last week.

But without the boost, he'd lose more than half of that.

You see the driver gets 80%. Of everything but the booking fee, a buck sixty five today. But to make sure there are drivers on the road... Uber boosts their pay all day. Ariel showed me the schedule. All day long he was making more than x1, even if I wasn't being charged a surge fee. Good deal for me.

Ariel drives a Prius. Allen drove a Camry Hybrid. They want to use as little gas as possible. Ariel figures he spent eighty bucks last week. And he's got to change the oil every 10,000 miles, that's about $70, but his tires lasted 80,000 miles and he got some Hankooks, on the car, for $250 at a place south of downtown. So he's netting good money. Although he's learning to drive a big rig. A friend of his made a hundred grand doing that last year.

Allen's looking for another gig. Meanwhile, sometimes he'll drive after midnight, when surge can go to x4. Used to be customers complained and Uber reduced the fee, but now everybody's aware. At that hour you'll pay anything to get home.

And there are other tricks of the trade. If you get taken far off the beaten path, to Long Beach or some other godforsaken place, you're better off driving back to town without a passenger, to ensure you can continue to make bank.

Last week's driver played the Warped Tour.

I was wondering when I saw the tattoos creeping up his arm. How could he make it in regular life? But now he cuts hair and drives Uber on the side. And was gonna pay to go to the Warped Tour this year, because he can't miss out on Good Charlotte and Sum 41, he grew up with those bands.

I sit and stare at the four walls, depressed about my on schedule but slow recovery. And then I call up an Uber and I have a window into the world. I find out twenty three year olds are voting for Donald Trump, despite being half-Mexican. I find out the younger generation is addicted to Jason Ellis on Sirius, their skateboard roots shining through. And despite the Carpenters being from Downey, the Uber generation is more impressed that James Hetfield graduated from high school there.

Everybody's got a story.

Everybody wants to be their own boss.

Everybody wants to not only pay their bills, but get ahead.

Everybody is open and friendly if you give them respect.

And it's great to live in a world where you can get a ride on demand. I keep thinking about all the times I needed one in the past.

I'm not about to give up my car, but I know people who have.

Neil, Brandon, Suzy...

But what about the grocery store?

Suzy just pulls up UberEATS!


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