The Luck of the Draw
by John Lawrence, November 16, 2018
I don't like to gamble especially if there's a possibility that I might lose money. That's why I love the game I'm now participating in. It's a game of chance wherein I always win. It's just a question of how much. I'm an Uber and Lyft driver. On any given day it's possible that there are no riders, no one requesting rides or there are too many Uber and Lyft drivers in the same vicinity I'm in so that none of us get that many rides. However, I've found to my amazement that the financial results are quite consistent depending on how many hours I put in. Some days are better than others, of course, but on nine out of ten days I make almost exactly the same amount per unit time.
Some people are pissed that Uber and Lyft drivers are self-employed contractors, and as such don't have the "protections" that employees have. Well, I've been self-employed for most of my life, and the freedom that comes with it more than offsets any "protections" employees who have to work a straight eight hour shift day after day may have. When you're an Uber and Lyft driver you're never late for work, and you can turn off the apps and take a break any time your little heart desires.
You get to know where all the supermarkets and Starbucks are located because having to pee occasionally is one of the hazards of the road. Starbucks now has a corporate policy of letting anyone use the bathroom without even having to purchase anything. I buy Starbucks some times, but never when I have to pee. After the two black guys in a Philadelphia Starbucks had the police called on them because they hadn't bought anything and wanted to use the bathroom, there was a big brou ha ha over that and Starbucks announced the official policy of letting anyone use the bathroom no questions asked.
But I digress from my main point - that Uber and Lyft driving is a game of chance in which I always win, and the winnings are pretty much fairly consistent. You learn that certain times of day and certain days of the week are better than others. For instance, weekends are the best because you don't have to deal with any rush hour traffic. I enjoy giving tourists travel tips and answering their questions. You meet some interesting people and pick up some interesting tidbits of information that you wouldn't have known otherwise. At the end of the week, Uber and Lyft deposit the money directly into your account, and that's nice. You can even get paid sooner than that, but I've never needed to do that.
So the luck of the draw works for me. I've got a great car that's a pleasure to drive. I've seen some incredible sunsets. I see my beautiful city in all kinds of lights. I've got a great audio system tuned to several jazz internet channels that I listen to all day. I see people out and about enjoying themselves. I'm a fly on the wall to some interesting conversations. Yeah, to some extent, I live vicariously, but all in all I love my job. It's based on the luck of the draw, but I always win. The only way I could lose is if I were to be involved in an accident so cautious driving is paramount.
