‘Putting ourselves in danger’: Rideshare ex-driver shares her story

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Uber and Lyft rideshare services used to be easy to access in Augusta before the pandemic.

Post-pandemic, they are almost non-existent. We sat down with a former Uber driver to find out the cause of the shortage.

Many shared on our Facebook post that drivers can now drive for Uber Eats. It saves them half the time and all the hassle without dealing with the public.

One driver tells us with the rise in crime in Augusta, safety played just as big of a role in her decision to quit.

“There were areas that I didn’t know. I mean, it’s dark, you can’t see, you don’t exactly know who’s waiting. I’ve had people want to, you know, let’s say, stop at one place, and it just doesn’t look safe,” said Jay Robinson.

She was an Uber driver for two years before she decided to hang the keys on the hook.

“Started driving Uber in 2020, a little bit pre-COVID. But I drove kind of through the midst of COVID. I did it because I needed to supplement some income,” she said.

She was bringing in around $400 after driving four days a week.

As time went on, lockdowns increased, and COVID cases climbed, people didn’t need rides. Then a lot of drivers bailed for safety reasons.

“After COVID and the mask mandate, many of the passengers complained that they weren’t able to get drivers and that they had to wait an hour to 45 minutes to get a driver,” said Robinson.

She said safety was important to her.

“When we were driving during COVID, we were definitely less than six feet away from people. We had to make sure that we were safe,” said Robinson.

She said with people going back to work, the cost of the ride is no longer worth the wait.

People in the CSRA say they still want this service, including her friends.

“For the people that need it. It’s so important. I’ve had mothers that just wanted to get to daycare, students that needed to get back and forth to school,” she said.

With the wear and tear on her car from people not taking care of it, she said it wasn’t worth it.

“I think that we have to be valued our time, the wear and tear on our cars, the putting ourselves in danger,” she said.

We reached out to Uber and Lyft to find out if they have any plans to recruit more drivers here. We’ll update you if we receive a response.

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