I had been retired for just shy of three years when an old work buddy referred me to Lyft. Honestly, the days had started to stretch out and I was worried about what the next ten, twenty, even thirty years were going to look like. Although I had my freedom with a car, a couple of volunteer projects and family to visit, it still wasn’t filling my schedule like a full-time job used to. I didn’t want to go back to work, but I didn’t want to sit at home all day either.
Keeping in touch with my family is important, as they’re a bit of a drive away now, so I already had a smartphone. It’s true I was only using it to send the occasional text message though. Getting set up wasn’t too hard: I just had to open the app and put my details in. I think a lot of their drivers must be of my generation, because they were great at keeping the technical lingo to a minimum, and I know they’ll help you get a phone if you don’t use one already.
I joke that, since I turned 50, every birthday puts my body clock back by five minutes — I’m a very early riser now, usually up around five or six AM. Lyft has been a real blessing in that sense, as it gives me something fun and useful to do in those early hours. It’s not the biggest issue for me, but those hours are also where I’ve found the most money to be made. I’m doing a lot of airport runs for business trips, ferrying men and women to offices and breakfast meetings, a lot of ‘company time’ stuff.
At first I was surprised at just how respectful and polite my passengers were — I’m told to ‘have a great day’ fifteen, twenty times over! Passengers are often interested in what I used to do for work and I’ve had some great chats with younger people working their way up in the same industry. Like I said, it’s not about the money for me — although it’s a nice perk to charge a great dinner out or ticket to something to Lyft. Even if I just do one morning per week (if I’m feeling particularly energetic I’ve been known to do all five weekday mornings) it’s great to have that sense of purpose on tap and a way to meet new folks of all ages.
Want to hit the road? Sign up for Lyft today and take advantage of their new driver bonuses.