Riding Through the 352

COMMUNITY RIDING THROUGH THE 352 THE 352 THE 352

A LOOK INTO GAINESVILLE'S UBER DRIVERS

story by Kacey Finch photos by Tommy Wolfe

Passengers seem to have a great experience with Ulmer as well; he’s rated five stars on Uber. He did his research and read Reddit tips about how to make it a comfortable experience for both the rider and the driver. Any ride-share passenger would be happy to cruise in his Toyota Corolla on the way to their destination. He stocks it with water and snacks, keeping it clean and odor free.

“Make sure that people are happy right off the bat,” he advised. “Make your car smell good, and do all these things to make it really comfortable for passengers.”

Gainesville ride-share drivers get us where we need to go when we need to be there. We rely on them, but we don’t always know them. Who is the person behind the wheel? And what motivates them to chauffeur strangers around town?

Some do it for extra cash. Others do it to fill their free time. Peter Daniell drives people around for both reasons. When he’s not working at Trader Joe's, helping his Airbnb tenants or spending time with his girlfriend, Daniell hops on Uber or Lyft. Its flexibility attracted him to the side job.

“The best thing about doing this is that you can go on and off in your way,” he said. “I don't find very many jobs out there that allow you to clock in and [clock] out your own way.”

In his first year as a driver, Daniell hasn’t encountered any of the horror stories that flood the Internet. However, he mainly drives on Monday and Tuesday mornings, avoiding the chaos of late nights and game days. Daniell’s biggest concern is the increased time on the road.

“Just being on the road that many more hours or miles, especially during rush hour, the chance of car accidents are that much higher, as well as wear and tear on the car,” he said.

While some drivers may be more paranoid about the strangers getting in their vehicle, it’s the best part of Daniell’s job.

“I get a lot of international travelers, people coming to the University of Florida for either job interviews or school purposes,” he said. “I've had people from India, China, France, Brazil, England [and] all over the states.” The social aspect of being a driver is exactly why Collin Ulmer signed up as soon as he could. He registered in July on his 21st birthday. He’s had a positive experience, even though he typically drives Thursday through Saturday from about 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

“For the most part, it actually has been really nice people,” he says. “I haven't really had any bad experiences with people, just people who've been rude.”

As a student, the best part about being an Uber and Lyft driver is the flexibility it offers. Ulmer works another job, a research position and an internship and is applying to get into Ph.D. programs.

He sets his own hours and drives as much or as little as he wants, allowing him to make money and keep his priorities in order.

“The good thing is that I can be selective with my hours,” he said. “It's a low stress, easy way to make money.”

It’s also exactly why Ananda Pacheco drives. Pacheco runs Community Unity Animal Sanctuary in Alachua—its animals ranging from dogs to peacocks. She drives Uber and Lyft seven nights a week to fund the sanctuary, which has been registered as a nonprofit organization since 2016 that doesn’t rely on grants. It would help both passengers and drivers feel more secure, she said. It assures Uber that their drivers are not doing anything “stupid” with their passengers and vice versa.

“I can't have a regular 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job because of what I do. Trying to work a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. would not allow me to answer calls for rescues,” Pacheco says. “With Uber, it allows me to have the flexibility during the day to run my rescue and the sanctuary. And in the evenings, I just focus on Uber-ing so that I could provide for the animals.” While ride-sharing has its safety flaws, Uber and Lyft have safety features in their apps for drivers. Drivers can cancel rides if they feel unsafe, access a 911 feature if something goes wrong and allow friends and family to track rides. How safe she feels mostly depends on how the passengers talk to her, Pacheco said.

While its job flexibility is convenient, Uber and Lyft can work on other areas. Pacheco believes one of the biggest downfalls of the rideshare apps is the lack of training to become a driver. Pacheco recalls having to pick up the tricks of the trade on her own, struggling to get her bearings when she first started the job three years ago. However, lack of training is the least of Uber’s and Lyft’s worries. Safety issues, which news outlets have highlighted, are one of the biggest problems ride-sharing faces. Both riders and passengers need more thorough precautions to ensure safety before, during and after rides.

“People [who] make you feel uneasy or uncomfortable or like you don't want them in your car are the ones I rate a one-star passenger,” she said. “If you rate someone to one, Uber will never pair you with them again.” As an Uber and Lyft driver, Pacheco’s greatest “The good thing is that lesson learned is to not make immediate assumptions about a person. When accepting I can be selective with a ride, she doesn’t always know who is going to step into her vehicle. She’s picked up kind, young men on the side of town most my hours. It's a low Ubers wouldn’t dare to go, and she’s driven potentially dangerous 30 minutes away. stress, easy way to “It's good to be very cautious and good to be aware of your surroundings. But at the same make money.” time, learn that things are not always as they appear,” she said.

Fake Uber drivers are one of the greater safety issues. On Oct. 5, after the Auburn football game in Gainesville, one of Pacheco’s passengers said a man who posed as her Uber driver pulled up and told her to get in the car before he cancelled the ride. Luckily, the college-aged girl felt suspicious and noticed the car was not the same as what her app said. When she asked the man to confirm her name, he couldn’t.

When Pacheco pulled up, the girl expressed her relief that she had a female driver.

“She was a little shaken up about it,” Pacheco said. “It happened off of 8th Avenue.”

One safety precaution Pacheco takes upon herself is having a dashboard camera that records the inside of her car, something she believes Uber should equip its drivers with. Even with the difficult days that come with being a driver, Pacheco loves driving Uber and Lyft as a way to raise funds for her sanctuary.

And not all days feel like a chore. It’s given her the opportunity to meet people she wouldn’t have otherwise. She took Cris Collinsworth, a former UF wide receiver and current sports broadcaster, to Orlando after he served as Mr. Two Bits during a Gator game in 2018. She also drove former UF football player Martez Ivey home.

Not all days are bright, but fate placed the right person in Pacheco’s passengers’ seat. Pacheco, who is certified in first aid and mental health for kids, once spent two hours talking down a suicidal teenager.

“It's also been an eye opener for me as a person to realize that everyone has their own individual struggles,” she said.

A job as an Uber or Lyft driver goes beyond being a chauffeur or someone’s reliable form of transportation. Sometimes, Gainesville drivers can double as friends and confidants. O&B