By Lazarus Barnhill

Lazarus Barnhill, Piedmont Triad author, finds being a Uber driver fits in well with his writing schedule. His latest novel, The Boston, the story of a world-class runner’s struggles to compete in the world’s most prestigious marathon, will be released in the fall.

Uber, only five-years-old, has been in the Triad and Triangle for the past year or so. Because it’s new, many have questions about it. As a Uber driver, I will explain what Uber is and what’s in it for you a senior adult, either as a rider or even a driver.

How does it work? When someone needs a ride anywhere in the world, riders touch a button on their smart phone and the GPS (global positioning satellite) link tells the Uber software the rider’s location and destination and sends the nearest Uber driver to collect the rider. This happens in less time than it takes to read about it.

The money part is the smoothest piece of the process. When riders sign up for Uber—something that takes a couple minutes on their smart phone—they enter their credit or debit card information. Before a ride starts, the customer gets an estimate of the cost, somewhat less than your average taxi ride in these parts. When the ride is over, Uber automatically charges the card and sends a record of the amount to both driver and rider. Every Thursday morning, Uber transfers to my bank account my share of the previous week’s fares or I can receive a weekly check.

So how much do I make “Ubering?” The company keeps about 28 percent of my fares, leaving me about 78 cents out of each dollar. When I first began to drive for Uber, I was content to net $15 an hour. As I learned more about locations and demand times, my average hourly net rose to over $18 an hour. I have had hours where I netted well over $30. Typically, I drive about 15 hours a week; in an average week I wake up on Thursday morning with $250-300 deposited in my checking account.

Uber also has a rating system. After each ride, before drivers can accept another trip, they must rate the last rider. Riders also must rate their driver before they can ping another ride. Five stars is perfect. The average for drivers in our area is 4.6. (Mine? I carry a 4.8.)

All this seems pretty straight forward, but the basic source of conflict involves how Uber works. Since it’s an internet “ride share” program of private citizens, it skirts taxi company regulations and fees. Cab companies and the municipalities that tax them get pretty distressed when Uber drivers take over an increasingly large share of public transportation.

How do you get to be an Uber driver? Go on your computer to Uber.com and follow a simple process. It takes about a week to get certified to drive because Uber checks your driving and personal history carefully. Some officials claim that Uber drivers aren’t vetted the way local cabbies are. That’s bunk. You may not meet a Uber employee face-to-face, but they will know you’re qualified to be a safe, courteous driver. With its rating system that gives each rider the ability to grade you, Uber knows how well you are serving your riders.

What can you expect when you drive Uber? You have complete freedom to accept or reject any trip and any rider. (Riders also get rated by the drivers, and you can see how many stars they have before you ping “accept”.) You also can zip over to the Triangle if there are big occasions taking place.

One element I like most about Uber is the unpredictability of who is going to want to ride with me. I’ve transported hockey teams, sorority parties, honeymoon couples, couples too angry to speak to one another, travelers going to the airport and then around the world, and folks just wanting to go the convenience store. I cannot think of any job or hobby that can insert me briefly, innocuously into the lives of a multitude of different people the way Ubering does.