In NYC for a quick visit, and I’m traveling old school. There’s a meter and everything. I would have taken Lyft, but the wait would be at least 10 minutes and I couldn’t figure out the pickup location in Penn Stafion.
In NYC for a quick visit, and I’m traveling old school. There’s a meter and everything. I would have taken Lyft, but the wait would be at least 10 minutes and I couldn’t figure out the pickup location in Penn Stafion.
Rides #490, #491. Sometimes I’m a fount of recommendations that surprise. The couple visiting from Colorado got my glowing review of karaoke favorite @voiceboxpdx’s new Denver location. The young woman with foot troubles got the name of my holistic podiatrist.
I must be doing something right today. 5 out of 6 passengers tipped me, even on the short rides. 💃🎉😇
Speaking of ratings… did you know that Lyft drivers must keep their average above 4.6? If you give your driver 4⭐️, Lyft interprets this as a failing grade. It’s counter-intuitive; we think 4 out of 5 is good. Give 5⭐️ to any driver you’d be willing to ride with again.
**Ride #488, 489. ** Basic short rides downtown to Starbucks, Storables. Unremarkable trips = 5⭐️ passengers.
Last week’s earnings details: $389, 44 rides, 30 hours logged into the app. $8.84 per ride. I’ll do some more numbers crunching to determine how much time was actually driving. (Lyft gives minutes but not totals.) You can how the per-ride income can fluctuate wildly here:
Tipping rideshare drivers is a subject I need more than 280 characters to cover. I always tip, so I was surprised that more than half of my passengers don’t. To be clear, tips have nothing to do with the passenger ratings I give. I don’t even find out about tips until later.
Ride #487. A nice couple from LA, bound for the train station. They were running quite late. I knew they probably wouldn’t get good seats together, so I gave them my tip about going to the bistro car and sitting in the cafe. And they gave me a tip too! 5⭐️
The conclusion of our story: I picked up a guy who had dropped off a rental car and needed to get back to Vancouver, Washington. A completely unremarkable trip in every way. And my last time waiting in the PDX lot!
On my way to pick up my passenger. I’ll give you the details later. Fingers crossed.
Passed the two-hour mark waiting in the Lyft airport queue. Thank goodness I’m doing this for science.
One of the fun things about driving for Lyft: you never know what the day will bring. The ride might end up being worth the wait. #lyftlifelessons
Ride #486. Yesterday it finally happened. Portland is like a village sometimes. I should have figured that eventually I’d pick up someone who knows me from my non-Lyft life. “Are you Jean from @AppCamp4Girls?” Great passenger whom I met at a conference two years ago. 5⭐️
Update. I’ve moved up 4 places in 44 mins.🤦♀️ There are likely more drivers dropping off at this hour and who then get rematched with an arriving passenger. It’s tough on those who wait here, but everyone knows the Lyft system, which reduces waiting time for our passengers.
Ride #484, 485 Dropped a passenger off at Union Station for his 1st time on the PDX-SEA train. I love train travel and take that train all the time. I also love sharing my train tips! I also got matched with an arriving passenger. Both 5⭐️ for taking the train. 🚂
Update: I’m #11 after 50 minutes. That’s about 4 minutes per spot. In other words, I’ll be here for another 45 minutes if I wait. I’m getting microblogging tasks done during this wait so I am not frustrated missing those surges back in the city. #birdinhand #lyftlifelessons
Early on I swore off the holding lot because of the ridiculously long waits for a ride. But there are advantages. There’s a restroom for drivers. I can sit and catch up on this microblog (yes, I’m like 20 rides behind!) in a quiet place knowing that eventually I will get a ride.
I’m at the airport after an early morning dropoff. I didn’t get immediately rematched with an arriving passenger, so I decided to take a chance in the taxi/rideshare holding lot queue. I started at #24. This could easily take an hour.
Ride #479, 480, 481. Routine rides: Pearl District, Airport, Wayside Brewing., Rose City neighborhood. Nice people and all 5⭐️ passengers.
Ride #478. Some people keep you waiting. That’s OK. Lyft has you wait 5 mins. before canceling. You get paid (a tiny amount) for the waiting. I don’t stress over it.
Some people keep you waiting on a one-lane street in a busy part of town. That is not OK. 4⭐️
Ride #477. I usually don’t like it when someone talks on their phone the whole ride. But today was this passenger’s birthday and she was making plans for her big day. 🎂 5⭐️ for you.
Ride #476. Pleasant airport ride. Woman on her way to Seattle for the day. A great way to start the day, even if I didn’t get a rematch ping for a pickup that early. 5⭐️ nice passenger.
Friday is Lyft report card day. My ratings have been dropping the last month, from 4.99 a month ago to 4.84. This is like having a B- in school and I hate it. I probably should meditate on my obsession with getting good grades. #lyftlifelessons
Rides #473, #474, #475. Transporting people to do fun things in Portland is always fun for me too. Blazers vs. Bucs, Brew Lights at the Zoo, and Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen. Cheerful passengers are 5⭐️ passengers.
Ride #472. Visitors from London going to the other side of town during rush hour. Waze takes us on a circuitous route through beautiful neighborhoods with lots of Christmas lights. It’s a pleasure driving passengers who enjoy the ride = 5⭐️.
Ride #471. A friendly 20-something woman from the Midwest talks about moving back to Chicago for a better job market, while applying all her makeup using the passenger side mirror. Entertaining and no makeup spills = 5⭐️ passenger.