Life of a Lyft Driver

Greetings All!

I had been wanting to write this entry for some time, I wanted to give some insight into some behind-the-scenes of how Lyft works and some of my experiences with it.

I suppose it all started around 2017 as that was the year I got the car I currently own. For some time I'd actually been living without a car and in LA that can be pretty hard. We do have a robust bus system and our light rail lines are improving a lot, but yeah getting around LA without a car is pretty hard. My parents bought me a car when I graduated high school and I'd been using it until it basically fell apart and wouldn't run anymore. After that, I was without a car for a few years before being able to buy a new one (well not a "new" one a used one, but you get my drift) The car I currently own is the first one that I paid for which does fill me with a sense of pride.

Before I got started with Lyft I did some work in food delivery as well (Postmates, Door Dash, and Grub Hub) I was also working freelance jobs in addition to that. I was able to live okay with all those different jobs but I started getting tired of food delivery, especially having to deliver to apartments. Some apartment complexes are huge and trying to find the right room can be a difficult task. But anyway I did food delivery between other freelance jobs that I worked and it managed to fit in my schedule, I also signed up for Lyft though at the time I didn't do it that often. Mainly because I had to have a clean car and no extra junk in it. Not that I carry a lot of extra stuff in my car all the time, but still it's something I had to keep in mind. Then came the pandemic....

I'm sure we all remember how 2020 was, no matter where you were in the world life changed drastically for all of us in ways we couldn't understand. For me however food delivery was still a work option, and it ended up becoming my only work option as my other freelance jobs dried up and were no longer available. I suppose I was somewhat lucky that I was still able to make money during the lock-down, but it wasn't as much as I made before. Also, I would occasionally get large food orders for hospitals which always made me nervous....

I did a lot of deliveries to hospitals during the pandemic. Sometimes they were large orders, sometimes they were small. My mom was nervous about me going there as was I, but I made sure to wear my mask and I almost never went inside the hospital. Most hospitals I delivered to had a set up where you called the person when you arrived there and then the doctor, nurse, etc. had to come meet you at the front to get it. Overall I think that was the best system to use, but I can't help but forget the look I would see in the workers' eyes. I always got the sense that the people there were tired, weary, defeated and honestly didn't know what to say to them. I would hear stories about medical personnel dying from COVID and every time I heard a news story like that I couldn't help but think of the people I was delivering food to. It made me wonder if any of the people I handed food to that day ended up dying....

Once the lock-down was over I tried to return to the work schedule I previously had but found it to be pretty difficult. Many of the jobs I worked previously were in theater and that was particularly slow to recover. I had gotten a new job working at a store in the Arcadia Mall and while I liked the job it took up a lot of my time so I didn't have as much flexibility to do freelance anymore. This was around the time that Lyft changed their policy regarding payment and hours. I think it was in response to a law that California passed, but the point was that Lyft was now going to pay you for all the hours you were online, whether or not you had a fare you would at least still make money. So with that I decided to give them a chance again and tried to fit in driving for Lyft around my other two jobs. It was a bit of a challenge at first but I eventually settled into a routine.

Being a Lyft Driver is both easy and hard to various degrees, that may not make much sense but let me explain. The actual work of driving people around isn't hard, all you do is pick them up and drop them off, most of the time that's not hard. You used to be able to make better money with Lyft than you can today. Part of it is dependent on gas prices though another part is based on bonuses. Lyft will occasionally offer different bonuses depending on certain things. Sometimes it's, "Give this many rides by this date," "Give three rides in a row during this time frame," or "Give a ride in this area." The "streak" bonuses were my favorite kind as they were the easiest to complete. All you had to do was give three rides and you got it. It was usually never more than $20, but still, that helps. At the time that I write this journal Lyft seems to have gotten rid of a lot of their bonuses and only still seems to have the "give a ride in a certain area," and that requires you to be in an area in order to get it. If you aren't already there then you need to drive there which can be a hassle if the area is far away.

The really hard part about Lyft is the fact that you're using your own car. That means you have to be conscious of how much you spend on gas and how much wear and tear you put on your car. That can be a real hard thing to take into consideration especially if you use your car for other things (as most people do). Because of that I don't do Lyft all the time, there are some people who do, and use it as their regular job but that's REALLY hard to do. Lyft does have a program where you can rent a car to use for ride-share, but then you have to pay rental fees so yeah seems like either way you lose. For me my car is paid off so at the very least I don't have to worry about car payments. I still have to worry about maintenance and insurance on my car which can add up. But I try to be smart about when I do Lyft and try to only do it at times when I'm sure I can make good money. Usually, that means setting aside a day or two each week to work Lyft for at least 8 hours and trying to make sure and work on both Friday and Saturday night as those tend to be times people go out. If I stick to that kind of schedule I can usually make some good money for the week. Lyft pays you weekly on Wednesday and closes the week every Sunday at midnight.

As for the actual driving of people, it's mostly okay. I have had a few people make "music requests" which does bug me. I'm not sure how things are nowadays but when I grew up the rule was always, "my car, my music" That's one rule I've always followed especially if I'm riding in someone else's car. I never ask to change the music unless I'm driving someone else's car, but yeah that is one of those things that I believe in and will stick by. So I find it rude when a customer gets into my car and asks, "Can you change the music?" Yeah.... no. Sorry, but getting to play MY music in MY car (that I PAID for!) is one of the few benefits of the job so if you don't like my music you're free to put on headphones and listen to your own, but don't ask me to change mine. That being said I have gotten compliments on my music too. I've made some playlists specifically for when I work and I make sure to put a little bit of everything on there, including both indie music and video game music. I don't use a music streaming service or satellite radio by the way, I have media files on my phone and play them on an app that way I don't have to worry about having a good internet connection.

Most of the time the drive is silent I tend not to say much unless the customer initiates conversation, even then only if it's about topics I like. I sometimes had a good talk with a person as I drove them, and those were always nice to have. I've even had one or two people recognize a particular obscure songs or bands I play and compliment me on that. I have had all kinds of different customers and only one problem customer that I can think of. I recently gave a ride to two people and when I was going to drop them off one of them (a woman) asked to be let off a few blocks from the destination. When I asked why she said something about how the guy's mother doesn't like her, which was... interesting. I've had a customer who I picked up and was driving and then asked me to pull over and let him out, good thing I did since as soon as he got out he threw up! Took him a few minutes but once he was done (and was sure he got it all out) we continued on our way! There was another rider who wanted to go all the way out to San Bernadino for a concert that was happening out there. That was by far my LONGEST ride ever (if you look up the distance from Los Angeles to San Bernadino you'll see just how long that is). I made good money on that ride, but damn it took almost two hours. I've had a group of women celebrating a bachelorette party who were all in high spirits! I've also had a group of tourists from Argentina who spoke Spanish with me and jammed out to Mana in my car while we were driving.

I get a lot of rides to and from the airport. I've been to all the major airports in LA and right now getting into LAX is a pain. I don't know why this is, but the traffic going into that airport is ridiculous, it sometimes takes over an hour to get in. Right now that airport is trying to expand and make a new drop-off point, it's close to being done, and I hope when it is it will re-leave some of the traffic.

As for problem riders there are only two that come to mind. One was a group of girls (I don't know how young they were but based on the details I'm about to give I'm pretty sure they were under eighteen). So it was about three of them who asked for a ride to a gas station. When we arrived there they then asked me if I would get off and buy some alcohol for them.... To be fair they offered me money, but I refused and then said they could either get out or I could take them back, but yeah, that is a rather "creative" way to try and get around the age limit, but it didn't end up working and I made sure to call Lyft and file a complaint about that customer afterward.

The only other problem rider I had was a gay guy, I knew he was gay because he was talking on the phone about how he had just broke up with his boyfriend, honestly after hearing that I felt sorry for him so when he asked if I would change my music I actually obliged him and turned on the radio. Apparently he couldn't find a station he liked because after some time he started ranting at me about how, "I should have premium music for him!" or he, "paid for a premium ride!!!" (side note: those do exist, they're called Luxury Lyft, but you need a fancier car to do them. My care does not qualify for that). Or some other such nonsense. But yeah, the rest of the ride turned into a rant at me about how I "don't have the music he likes," which was irritating. I never felt like I was in any kind of danger, but I was glad to finally drop him off, report him as a problem rider to Lyft, and never see him again.

There are two nights in the year when I always try to do Lyft as they tend to be the two most profitable nights. Those being Halloween and New Year's Eve. On Halloween one year I managed to make almost $700 in one night, not bad, though I should stress I stayed out pretty late (until about 4am) to do it. But yeah Halloween is a big night for people going out and partying, even more so if Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday. New Years is well, new years so quite a few people going out to parties and such, and I feel people are a bit more generous around New Years since Christmas just happened. On both of those nights, I plan to be out all night (usually from about 6pm to 3am) and try and do as many fares as I can. I make sure to take the next day off as I want a day to sleep in and recover.

At the end of the day driving for Lyft has its ups and downs. While I appreciate that the job isn't too hard and I'm grateful for the money I make, I really wish I made more and that there was some kind of assistance with helping me pay for maintenance on my car. You can write some of those expenses off for taxes, but that's not until tax time. Speaking of taxes, because this income isn't "W2" you have to pay taxes on it. You're considered an independent contractor when you work for Lyft so the money you earn isn't taxed like a paycheck would be. If you have a W2 job that takes money out of your paycheck then this isn't so bad as you usually don't have to worry about it, but if not then you either have to

1. Pay quarterly taxes throughout the year.

Or

2. Pay what you owe at the end of the year.

This can be a little frustrating, and while like I said there are ways to reduce the amount you pay in taxes, it can still end up being a lot. It's tough for sure, and seeing as I balance driving for Lyft with other jobs it can be hard to make it all work. But you know I do my best and try to make it work.

I hope one day I won't have to do Lyft anymore but until that day comes I'll still be out there doing it and who knows? If you live in LA maybe someday you'll ride with me?