Behind the Wheel: A Lyft Driver's Log
Piltdownlad loved San Francisco so much he became a Lyft driver. And that's dedication, walking into the trap of the gig economy because of vibes. Luckily for us, he also wrote about it the entire time.
To be fair, the gig economy lies to you, and Piltdownlad talks about that, along with all of the other things you'd want to learn about a Lyft driver: are there forums for drivers, and what does it take to get kicked out of it? What's the deal with the now-defunct mustache? What happens when you pick up someone who isn't your fare? And most importantly, tea about the fares themselves. Meanwhile, in the background, San Francisco is changing, gentrifying as tech continues to bloom in the city. (The anti-tech bro undercurrent warms my heart.)
I hate driving, and I hate customer service -- I have close to 15 years of customer and food service experience under my belt at this point, and have I ever seen The Horrors of both -- and to me there's a little bit of astonished horror in watching Piltdownlad jump into his new job feet first. I'm not going to lie, the gig economy sounds like a nightmare, but he seems easy to get along with, making effortless talk with his fares, except the ones who hate the homeless. Piltdownlad brings a lot of humanity to this thankless job, and to the people who jump into his car on a busy night.
This one is a page turner, and I can't wait to get into the other three volumes.
-kosmo