Former Lyft Driver: "My Backseat Looked Like I Transported Farm Animals"

Kelly Dessaint started driving for Lyft in San Francisco in February 2013. A copy editor and a designer as well as a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner, Dessaint drove on the platform on the side to make some extra cash.

While he enjoyed the ease of picking up customers via the app, his affinity for the new ride-sharing companies replacing traditional taxi drivers stops there. After a few months of driving with a pink mustache on his front dash, Dessaint quit and made a move that for most people probably sounds like going back in time. He went to cab school (he was the only person in his class) to become a traditional taxi driver for National Veterans Cab. 

"I didn’t care for the business model," Dessaint said on stage at the Next:Economy Conference at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco hosted by O'Reilly Media. "I think it is advantageous for the customers and not the drivers. My backseat looks like I transported farm animals... The worst drivers in San Francisco are tourists, and most Uber and Lyft drivers are tourists."

Dessaint was joined on stage by Eric Barajas, a current driver for Uber, as well as Jon Kessler who drives for Lyft. The three drivers had an honest discussion about not only what it is really like to drive people around all day, but also on the future of work. About a year ago, Barajas found an Uber ad on Craigslist that promised he could make $35 an hour — a significant pay raise from the part-time work he was able to get doing staging and decoration for events. The flexibility of deciding his own work schedule also was attractive — a perk that Uber's SVP of Policy and Strategy David Plouffe continually cites as a top reason drivers join the platform.

Barajas tried the platform out for about a month and liked it enough to quit his other jobs. But a year later and with Uber constantly racing to the bottom with fare prices to attract new users, Barajas feels like he was sold a false promise.

"I feel trapped. I wish there was something coming my way that was good," he said. "I work 11 hours a day and six days a week... I feel like with these cheap prices they have spoiled their customers big time."

When asked to break down his actual expenses and the money he is raking in driving full-time for Uber, it's clear that he is not getting close to making the $35 an hour Uber alleged he would. In gross revenue, Barajas says he makes about $1,050 a week, which translates to just $17.50 an hour for a 60-hour work week. With that money he has to pay for the $40 to $50 tank of gas he uses daily, a $172 weekly car payment though Uber Xchange, and an insurance bill that can run as high as $541 a month. [Barajas uses Metromile which charges drivers for insurance by the mile.]

Jon Kessler, a former taxi driver who now drives for Lyft, said he brings in about $28 an hour, but his hours vary dramatically week to week. He has three jobs and similarly enjoys the flexibility that comes with deciding when he works. Kessler shared that he also feels much safer driving for Lyft than he ever did when he worked for a cab company. After completing 4,600 rides for Lyft in the last 13 months, he says his only bad experience is when a drunk driver stole his iPhone. When he was a cab driver, he was obligated to pick up countless passengers who he felt "more than uncomfortable being in close proximity with." 

While each of the drivers differed in their opinions on the merits of Lyft, Uber and the traditional taxi industry, it's clear that all three sides see ample room for improvement from everyone. Barajas has organized protests in San Francisco with his fellow Uber drivers because he feels like the ride-sharing company should make it possible for drivers to earn tips through the app. For Dessaint, his traditional taxi company employer needs to get more realistic about the gatekeeper fees they are charging drivers to take out cars that are serving fewer and fewer passengers every day. And for Kessler at Lyft, he thinks the ride-sharing companies give too much power and control to the passengers and not enough to the drivers. 

Despite all these gripes, the panel couldn't come to any conclusions on what model — if any at all — are ideal. In front of a crowd of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and tech execs, the three drivers perhaps are hoping that someone listening to them has the answer. Until then, they'll continue to compete for passengers and income in the City by the Bay where the disruption all started.  

"I am on Fell Street in downtown San Francisco and a car is coming right at me. All I see is a pink glowing mustache," said Dessaint. "This is driving for hire in San Francisco. Let's take the rides away from professionals and give it to amateurs."

For more news from LinkedIn's New Economy Editor Caroline Fairchild, click the follow button at the top of this post and follow her on Twitter here.