Campus, News

Uber drivers share their experiences

The ridesharing company Uber, has been under scrutiny following the Jan. 28th protests at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where it was accused of trying to profit off of the demonstrations that took place.

Protests against the company began after a decision by Uber to disable surge pricing, a raised price for drivers to pick up more passengers, during the demonstration.

Protesters viewed the action as a method to make money off those coming to oppose the travel ban instituted by President Donald Trump. This led to the hashtag #deleteuber, a recent form of boycotting involving customers deleting the app.

Despite the loss of customers who have deleted the app, Uber driver Carlos Campuzano, has not noticed any loss in a demand for riders.

“Work is the same as usual,”  Campuzano said.

Campuzano’s career with Uber has driven for the company for seven months. Although he does not attend Cal State Long Beach, Campuzano uses a majority of his time working for Uber and is occasionally driving in the Long Beach area until his customers pull him back to Los Angeles.

Campuzano is not worried about losing customers because he believes there will always be a demand for people who are on the move.

“At the end of the day the rides will get done,” Campuzano said.

CSULB is a commuter campus comprised of students on a schedule with things to get done: from work to school and studying. As Uber is becoming a convenient service for employees and customers, students have begun to drive for Uber themselves to make money on their own time.

This opportunity caught the interests of students like Amanda Enriquez to begin driving for the transportation service.

But despite protests and the call to stop using Uber altogether, Enriquez isn’t worried because she also knows there is a demand for people needing transportation.

Enriquez, a fourth year business marketing major at CSULB, will be attending her graduation ceremony this spring and returning to campus in fall to finish her degree. When it comes to responsibilities, she’s shifted to maximum overdrive by studying for classes, working as an assistant manager at the Cinemark theater in Downey, working as a TSA officer at Los Angeles International airport and driving for Uber as her side-hustle.

At a commuter campus like CSULB, anyone near the traffic circle by Brotman Hall can notice the constant stream of buses, shuttles, cars and Ubers picking up and dropping off students and staff.

Uber’s website even offers a search option to find specific universities from around the country and sign up for a “campus card.” This allows users to connect their Uber accounts to a college campus, which lowers prices for students.

Enriquez joined the Uber fleet after hearing about its benefits from her sister, who is also an Uber driver.

“I wasn’t interested in a second job, but I was interested in the quick money and working on my own time,” Enriquez said.

A flexible schedule, working on her own time and the ability to make even more money from the payout of surge pricing would surely entice anyone with a car, free time and the desire to make extra money; however, her favorite perk of working for Uber is the conversations she has with her passengers and the different people she gets to meet.

Enriquez goes to class Monday through Thursday from mid-morning until noon and then it’s off to LAX until 10 p.m. The weekend nights are reserved for her second job at the Cinemark theater. Any time she has left after studying and working goes to Uber.

Amanda admitted that she’s got lost in the workflow and has sometimes forgotten about being a student.

“There were times when I walked into class and an exam was going on [and] that instant cluelessness and fear of not being prepared came down,” she said.  “It just wasn’t good.”

Any students who might be struggling with multiple jobs and a full-time class schedule aren’t alone. Enriquez says to remember the benefits of those jobs in the first place and keep hustling.

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