Depends on how you look at it but I definitely gave Lyft a bigger hand up today, yeah yeah yeah, not a thumb joke!
I had 7 Lyft pings and only 3 Uber, 3 of the 7 cancelled leaving me with 4 Lyft fares and 3 Uber, the comparison stops there unfortunately...
Fare 1 - Lyft - 3 guys, literally within walking distance, like 1/8th of a mile pull me from 4 miles away to take them to Kelly's - I very much dislike what I call #blockriders, if it's only 8:30 and you're a healthy 20 something, walk... After getting in first they joked about going to Havasu and I said "Havasu it is, it's going to be a pretty big fare just so you're aware" he said dude I'm joking, were going to Kelly's.. Mean kelly's bar, next to the Royal, on the other side of that house?!? He said yes and I said, on our way... The dude in the back said are the waters free?!? I said no, they're $2 each... Really?!? You're that freaking parched from walking to my car you need a water, hell no! end Rant! Ok, maybe not - "so how do we get a hold of you when we want to move on to the next spot?" I said Like The Royal (Next Door) or TJ's (Across the street) he said yea! I said just order up another Lyft, I'll be nearby... Truth be told I went offline and drove to East YL and I rated him 1* meaning I'll never be paired with him again... Ok Now end rant... ok maybe not, Folks realize, while yes we do get paid, I'll see only about $2 and I drove well over 10x's as far to get there...If someone wasnt physically capable I'd have no problem driving them next door, but these were (3) 20 somethings that could have walked there faster than even ordering the ride... enough rant...
I almost went home, but glad I didn't, I did really go offline however to get over to East YL, I saw a surge and figured I'd roll by CB's house (a really good friend) - unfortunately his garage was closed so I went online on both Lyft and Uber - boom, Uber ping!
Fare 2 - Uber - Surge was on as I got pulled from 5 miles away to a nice gated community in AH, upon arrival I see 6 people - my heart sunk, another cancel - got out and chatted with Anthony, he said we know, another uber is on their way... sweet! up rolls a nice MBZ c class, Anthony his GF and his buddy James all hopped in, I offered the water, candy and gum, they were stoked - I said you got the bummer of the two cars however.... What Anthony said next made every bit of tonight worth it... "Your car is freaking immaculate, you offered amenities I've never been offered in the hundreds of Uber rides Ive taken and you seem like the coolest guy..." I thanked him and asked where we were headed - Newport Beach... I was kind of excited, my first trip into what I've read is drivers hell... About 5 minutes into the trip he starts laughing uncontrollably... Shows his phone to his GF then shows his phone to James... They are cracking up - evidently he had taken pictures of the spread I had in the back seat and said hows your car? His friend messaged back a photo of a white rag with a yellow stain on it hanging out of the seat and said, "Yep, smells like Pee" - Anthony told me never to feel inferior when someone has something you perceive to be nicer as it can be a real pisser! So true Anthony, so true! Winner of the drivers choice award sbux card... I got out and openedthe GF's door - he made the effort to walk around to shake my hand and wish me a Merry Christmas - he also said there might be something wrong with the rear vent... I sent them off just as the MBZ pulled in behind me and I parked into a group of taxis to inspect the back seat - I found a nicely folded $20 bill "stuck" in my vent... I tried to text a "thank you" but the phone relay number is killed as soon as I end the ride... so, THANK YOU ANTHONY! Merry Christmas...
So here I am, a single guy at Newport Beach Pier area, dressed better than normal and have a fresh $20 in my pocket - a beer at Sharkeez was so tempting, but so were the bathrooms under the lifeguard tower - I parked my car next to fisherman's wharf and ran to use the facilities... (I left the car running but I can lock/unlock it remotely) with both of the new electro-luminescent signs up and both phones displaying Uber and Lyft offline - I return to a Bicycle officer looking into the windows with a very impressive micro light... I alerted him as I walked up with "Good evening officer" - he asked if that was my car to which I positively replied and joked they said is was clean and clear when I bought it... He laughed and said he was simply concerned my fare had taken me up the Pier and tossed me off... He also acknowledged the location to the bathrooms and said parking there was totally fine for Taxis - he also said he'd prefer to see more Uber and Lyft drivers parked there than in the alleys - this led into a 5 minute conversation of public urination... 'cmon drivers, I can get tokens at any gas and sip when I tell them I drive - dont pee in an alley... Just before he left he said do you mind submitting to a FSB (Field Sobriety Test) - I said if you'll let me take a few photos of the wharf, I'll consider that a good trade for my time.. he wasnt sure what I meant but I wanted him and I pictured in front of the dorry (sp?) boats as they were being prepped... Unfortunately he "wasnt allowed to be in a "blog" photo - but 2 if not 3 by standers filmed me - I hope to find it on google - of course I blew a 0.00... He apologized profusely and I assured him I appreciated it, it's better to be safe than sorry... I'll walk a line 100 times as long as my fare isn't impacted - at that point it's up to the fare to dispute with the app manager (Uber or Lyft)... I asked if I was allowed to walk around and take a few photos now until I got a call - he said sure! I took advantage! Also gave him a $10 discretionary SBUX card... He gave me his card - I guess back in the day they were get out of jail free cards, I dont think so but thank you anyway!
Fare 3 - Uber - She didnt know where she wanted to go but I had no problem driving her anywhere... As rumor has it now- had to be a dock neighbor at some point... All I'm gonna say is LOL.... Tonight, I picked her up at the Elks - the security asked me my business, I said I'm here to pickup SoandSo - I'm standing just off the front driver bumper and out walks SoandSo - I recognize her, she recognizes me - yes, we were neighbors... was a bummer to drop her off 15 minutes later...
Fare 4 - Lyft - a young teen with his burrito (he didnt bring me one either) needing a ride home after shift end...
Fare 5 - Lyft, Was driving literally door to door trying to find Karen... Karen is used to this as she uses public transportation almost daily, today her BF surprised her with a free lyft subscription... Her work address is a huge complex and unfortunately most of the time its easier for her just to meet at the bar out front... most of us drivers make the same mistake, are you a bartender?!? No, she's a resident manager for a rehab facility at the same address... I wont ever discuss her role nor does that topic have a place here but we both had a serious awakening - within a blink of an eye traffic on the 405 N came to a dead stop, a few cars slammed together... I drive almost every day and quite a few miles, I have never had a shorter time to react, I had less than a second to decide - I floored it and poked through a semi and F150 car length hole... felt like I jumped the car over a few lanes to the shoulder... a quick breath, noticed the police were there for a previous accident in the #1 lane - asked her if she needed to rest, she said no so we took off, I didnt think much of it honestly, I see wrecks all the time, then I felt her hand on my shoulder... She was praying to God for our safety, I smiled, grabbed her hand and asked her to look up for a second - as I can hear her BF yelling on the phone - I told her to look at the road, the speedometer and GPS, then tell her BF we'll be there in 5 minutes - First time ever I wish I had camera's rolling... We arrived to a hysterical BF and his mother... She had never in her life been that close to an accident, me, I've had a few doozies when rear-ended in my Xterra, but never in a car - Her BF pulled me aside and asked if I was OK, I said yes but God had to have helped because I had an Angel in my car... He said, you know she's not a bartender then... "Brother, I never drive in that area at 2:00AM nor do I pickup rides normally in Costa Mesa, it was the name, Karen, that made me stop, but now I know it was much deeper" - we all swapped numbers... While not the original definition, she deserved the smiley face stuffy - maybe I'll take it by her work tomorrow... Shoot, I deserve one too after that!
Offline to closer to my home, still a bit rocked but totally OK, ate a Big Mac and picked up my final fare at 2:45 -
Fare 6 - Hotel west of DTF to, the Placentia Yorba Linda border - literally a block from my house... couldn't understand a word they said but they put in the home address and there they went...
I had a few things I wanted to share tonight but this took an hour to write and I am dead tired - I've got a house to clean, a gem to pickup at the Brea PO, Friendsmas Eve to attend and more people to drive home safely...
#DriveSober - #RideDrunk - #UberOn - #LyftOn - #MerryChristmas
Jeff
your friendly neighborhood Uber/Lyft driver
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