Well it’s been almost 40 days since I last posted, so since I’ve taken my extended holiday break it’s time to get back to normalcy.
The holidays are an interesting time to be a Rideshare driver. They are some very busy times, but because of people taking time off from work, school being out, and people leaving town there are many days that are slower than average. It does make for some inconsistencies. It’s really not much different then servers at restaurants. When the times are busy you got to make sure you’re sticking money away because there will be slow days. The significant difference between the two are as a server you can get sent home or scheduled fewer hours because management knows it’s going to be a slow time. The beauty of a Rideshare driver is nobody tells you when or how long you can be online to drive. If you want to drive for 18 hours a day, no problem.
I enjoy driving around the holidays, although I don’t drive as consistently as many days. But I find it interesting to meet people that are flying in or out of town to be with their family for the holidays. There’s always a few good stories and sometimes heartbreak stories of people that have no one or have to work through the holidays based upon their profession. Then there’s the entertaining people that have had way too much to drink on a weekday night at the office holiday party.
Of course there is to big myth how New Year’s Eve is the biggest night of the year. I mean technically it is, but from the rider’s perspective. That is probably the single night where more people are taking Uber and Lyft than any other night. It gets built up and everybody assumes it’s this monster night for drivers. Truth is it’s better than a good Saturday night but not significant. This year especially. Mother Nature made sure to chill things down in Tulsa, so there was a noticeable percentage of people that did not go out this year and brave the sub-zero wind chills. But in general, while more people ride on New Year’s Eve there are also a significant amount of more drivers out there thinking they’re going to cash in on a crazy big money night.
Now my single biggest day ever was on New Year’s Eve of 2015. But I had two other days that we’re almost as big. Those other two days are actually bigger money days then New Year’s Eve 2016 or 2017.
The key to making money is finding the time frames you’re comfortable with but also trying to make sure that they are busy times. It’s also knowing what big events can make good money. Another big myth is if there’s a concert at the BOK Center then drivers are just going to make a killing that night. The truth is concerts can give you a couple of big rides potentially but it’s not like a concert can turn a $100 day into a $300 day. Sure there’s extra traffic getting to the concert and sometimes there is a light surge with a few of those rides. And after the concert there’s generally a surge, especially for bigger artists. Guns and Roses, Madonna, and the bigger country artists will sell out and create post-concert surges of up to 5 or even 7 times the normal rate. The biggest surge I ever saw in Tulsa was after the Madonna concert. It got up to 9.4 times and I was fortunate enough to catch a long ride that had two stops that night. The reality is that post-concert surge lasts about 30 minutes, so you get two shorter rides or one long ride. Obviously, it pads the day’s numbers but doesn’t break the bank.
Now there are two big weeks for Rideshare driving in the City of Tulsa. One is Oktoberfest. Believe it or not, Tulsa boasts one of the five best and largest Oktoberfests in the United States. When I first heard that I didn’t really believe it, cuz it’s not like we have a big German population here, but I’ve read it several places and this last October I gave a ride to a guy from Ohio who travels to multiple Oktoberfests every year as part of an Entertainment Group, and he confirmed that Tulsa is a great Oktoberfest and easily a top 5. The second ,of course, is the Chili Bowl, which is currently going on this week. Again this is an event that I was aware of, but did not realize how many different people come from so far away and so many different corners of the world to watch one of the biggest events in midget Sprint car racing.
I did not drive during last year’s event, but in 2015 I remember meeting people from California, Tennessee, Alabama, Brazil, Canada, Arizona, Wyoming and Pennsylvania. And I’m sure there were others that I just didn’t get where they were from. They fill the motels and the Expo Center at the fairgrounds and then they fill the restaurants and bars after all the racing is over for five nights. If you’ve experienced, seen or heard how NASCAR fans and race fans like to tailgate, imagine them just taking that inside to a variety of bars, pubs, taverns and clubs for five straight nights.
My favorite story of driving Chili Bowl week involves these four kids from Wyoming. I say kids because they all were under 21. The first night I picked them up they were just leaving the Chili Bowl and going to grab some food. A couple of days later I picked them up from a local pool hall and club that 18 year olds can enter. After hearing their failed conquests of picking up some local girls, they returned to their hotel. The third night that I saw them was Saturday night. I picked them up from the Chili Bowl and this time they all wanted to see if they could just brazenly walk in to one of the Gentlemen’s Clubs in town. I told them I would wait in case they didn’t make it past the door. They didn’t. So after asking me where the best place to go to see pretty girls would be for somebody under 21, I suggested Twin Peaks. Later that night right before 2 a.m, I got a ride request, and lo and behold it was my four Wyoming friends. Somehow they got somebody to serve them beer. And lots of it. And based upon their conversation they met lots of pretty girls. They were on a minimal budget and the entire town sells out during this week so they were staying at the Clarion by the airport. The kid in the front seat declared everybody needed to empty all the dollar bills out of their pockets. Nobody really questioned him and he gathered all their bills, most of them wadded-up, and he handed them to me. He said they were all broke and counting their pennies while they were in town, but since they were flying out tomorrow and they wouldn’t be spending any more money and they saw me four times that the only tip they were going to leave all week was me and it was whatever money they had left. If I remember right it was $36, and I even declined and told him they needed to keep it tomorrow, but they insisted, and I’ve learned when somebody’s insistent upon tipping it would be an insult to decline.
And speaking of favorite riders and the fact that everyone has a story, it was the week before Christmas 2017 when I pulled up to pick someone up and I saw a wedding party. This wasn’t a church or an event center, but there were women in bridesmaid dresses, men in tuxedos and the bride in a beautiful dress. I was to take the bride and her groom from a location where they were taking pictures to the church. Not terribly unique although I don’t get a bride in her wedding dress in my car often. Actually only once before, and it was after the reception. What made this couple unique is this lovely bride was from Aruba. The groom was from Broken Arrow and he met her while on vacation. After 2 years of their relationship, they decided to tie the knot. (I have a knack for getting people to share their life story with me in 10 minutes). After the honeymoon, he was moving to Aruba to live with her. A very cute couple.
That couple got me thinking, I wonder how many countries have been represented by riders in my car? And how many states? It would be hard to be completely accurate after 32 months of not keeping track. Something new to do.
Lastly, i received this End of the Year email from Uber. I pride myself on being a top driver. This validated that.
Uber & Lyft: Everyone Has A Story 