Fort Lauderdale Pros and Cons

• Hiedi Handford, a medical consultant, supplements her income by driving for Uber in South Florida.
• Even though she only makes about $3,000 a month, Handford has found strategic ways to maximize her income.
• Mr. Handford is also a Jeevz driver, driving luxury cars and earning generous tips from riders.

Hiedi Handford, 57, has been driving long distances for as long as she can remember. She drove 190 miles round trip, over mountain passes, from her home in the same town where the Unabomber lived to her job in Montana.

Handford, a mother of three, moved to Colorado and then South Florida for her medical consulting business, but when she realized she could get paid to drive, she started using Uber four years ago. started. Although it has helped supplement her income from her business, she has become increasingly dissatisfied with some aspects of her driving experience.

“The frustrating thing is, as drivers, we have all the risk, we have all the responsibility,” Handford said. “We’re the face of these apps, but they’re not paying us for it.”

Handford was one of nearly 20 South Florida drivers BI spoke to over spring break. Many drivers are increasingly turning to private rides, alternative driving platforms, or riding in less populated areas, but many find that driving at certain times of the year can be fulfilling and beneficial. People tuned in. Some people have moved away from driving full time and turned to other sources of income.

“I don’t know how people around here are going to pay rent if they’re doing this full-time,” she says.

Driving for Uber in South Florida

Handford spent the first 40 years of his life in Montana, living in a town of 1,000 people. There weren’t many jobs in her area, so she took a government job 60 miles up a mountain road.

She eventually entered the medical consulting field as a holistic healer. She spent several years in Colorado, where she worked as a cannabis industry activist and received training on how to work with cancer patients.

She immigrated to South Florida 10 years ago and moved to Fort Lauderdale. Given that her patients are scattered throughout South Florida, she figured she could make money by ferrying passengers to their appointments.

“Uber was much more profitable than it is now,” Handford said. “Four years ago, you could make $350 a day for eight to nine hours. Now, even a full 12-hour run is impossible. They’re spending so much money. , that doesn’t happen. That’s what I did.” We drove from the airport to Boynton Beach. He paid his $62 for the trip and I was paid his $26. ”

She currently drives about six hours a day between customer visits and estimates she makes $20 to $25 an hour. This helps her make up for her medical consulting appointments, which charge her $125 per hour. She sometimes uses destination filters to make rides more convenient for your destination, but she said they often don’t work during peak hours. On weekends, she often drives all day.

“I consider myself a driver during the day, so most of my work is at clinics. Health insurance pays for transportation, so a lot of clinics use cars to pick up people. “We send them and charge them for it,” she said. “You can always go out and make money. The only problem is knowing where to drive and not being too picky. You’re not going to make money if you’re picky about every ride.”

She said she’s considering taking private rides, which pay much more than a random Uber or Lyft ride, but she’d rather avoid the added risk and liability.

“From an insurance standpoint, I would never recommend doing a private ride with someone because somewhere, for some reason, something is going to happen,” Handford said. “You’re in South Florida. You could be the greatest driver in the world, but you trust the other guys out there, and eventually they’re going to run into you. ”

Instead, she preferred driving in Jeevz where she could drive luxury cars. Although she consistently earns $17 an hour on this platform, she receives much larger tips from wealthier riders. She also drives private cars for passengers, which avoids costs associated with maintenance and depreciation, and she feels she can drive more safely because the passenger screening process is more stringent. He said he was there. She has several clients with whom she has strong relationships and rides Jeevz about three to four times a week.

“I’m a car guy, so it makes me really happy,” Handford said. “I always wanted to try these other cars because I like horsepower and everything about it.”

Strategies for driving part time

She said she always drives in Miami, about 45 minutes south, and uses Google Translate, especially with Spanish-speaking passengers. However, there have been some misunderstandings due to the language barrier.

She said she’s frustrated with the toll reimbursement process as new toll roads are being installed in her area that aren’t all reflected in the Uber and Lyft apps. She said it can sometimes take weeks to receive a refund, and even if she provides evidence, her request is sometimes denied.

It also took time to learn how to navigate the area’s drawbridges, which often caused delays and caused passengers to cancel her rides. “We have cars, but no hovercraft,” she said.

Handford said she hasn’t prioritized spring break rides as much this year and has come up with a more profitable driving strategy. She focuses on running at tourist airports, since she is usually away from the beach where traffic jams can keep her sitting for over an hour. Still, the ride-hailing transit area is about three miles from the busy terminal in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood International Airport may not be worth the trip.

She also found that incentives were reduced during peak hours, and that driving in tourist areas was hit-or-miss for earning money.

Despite the headaches and frustrations of driving around Fort Lauderdale during peak vacation times, she said she loves her role as a tour guide and “mother.” She advises riders on how to stay alert and safe while having fun, and that’s helped her advice grow as well.

“I like spring break because I get to share my community and where I live. I’m really happy to have more community in Fort Lauderdale because then I don’t have to go far to do that. “Because I enjoy interacting with people,” Handford said. “I really don’t believe that the problems they had in South Beach were caused by kids coming on spring break. They want to come here and have a good time, but most of the time they get beaten up, You might fall face first into the sand.”

Driving is especially rewarding when you’re rewarded for doing your best to keep your passengers safe. She said many drivers in her area will drop off passengers anywhere without considering their safety, and she enjoys being a resource for area residents, especially medical patients. Ta.

Still, the $2,400 to $3,400 a month she makes driving may not be the most economical going forward.

“If I take Uber, I average $20 to $25. If I don’t get that average, I turn off the service and go home,” Handford said. “I fly by the seat of the algorithm.”

Are you a ride-hailing driver and are struggling to pay your bills or have you recently experienced success? If you would like to share your story, please contact us below nsheid lower@businessinsider.com.