Fifty-one, laid off, and looking at the driver app.
I needed the extra cash. I already knew Wilmington. I did not expect the reporting to become a software project.
Read the noteHudson’s journal · Wilmington, NC
School runs, paid rides,
and a little live music.
I’m Hudson. Fifty-one, Wilmington born and raised, and driving Uber and Lyft between school runs, practices, games, and work pickups. Corporate layoffs brought me to rideshare. The family calendar decides when I can go online.
I build software, question the hourly rate, and play artists who are coming to town. Here’s what I’m figuring out along the way.
From the journal
Before I go online, who needs a ride home?
Our Brady Bunch calendar gets first refusal on a driving shift. I built an app because finding a free window had become a job of its own.
Read the noteWhich hours are in that hourly rate?
Two hours with passengers. Three and a half committed to work. In a hypothetical $84 shift, that is the difference between $42 an hour and $24.
Read the noteWho’s playing Wilmington? Put them on.
The radio app started with my shifts. Now the family is learning who’s coming to town—and what they sound like before they get here.
Read the noteI know Wilmington. This job still keeps me busy.
I brought a hometown advantage to rideshare. Doing the work has made me appreciate drivers who are learning the roads and the job at the same time.
Read the noteMy next pickup might be one of my kids.
A ride can look good on the screen and still be wrong for the afternoon. My next family commitment belongs in the calculation.
Read the note