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I'll document some good stories here of riders I've had. One night driving around, I got a call from a group of friends on a sailboat, stranded on a lake, wanting a drive home. Luckily they could get to the dock on the sailboat in complete darkness for me to pick them up, but it was quite an adventure nonetheless. We have a triple A baseball team here for the KC Royals, and I live near the hotel where a lot of the visiting team plays. I've driven around a few big leaguers, transitioning in the minor leagues, between the hotel and the stadium. I don't pay much attention who they are because I don't follow very much baseball. I had an old drunk farmer almost creamed my car at a casino one night, while driving a couple there. He was flying down the parking lot and didn't see my car, coming within a foot of t-boning me. He jumped out of his truck in coveralls, screaming about my driving ability, and immediately threw up all over himself. I tried to avoid him, but he followed me out of the casino and onto the interstate. I was more scared for the out of town riders I had, than for myself, because they didn't want to be dropped off anywhere where the drunk farmer could confront them. I called 911 to report him, but he gave up following me around for a while.

Anybody drive for these services? Any tips? I did a lot of research into both, and just recently started driving part time at nights while my kids sleep. In my area, it isn't quite busy enough to do it more than part time, but you can get some good rates when the bars close and there's surge pricing going on, for just a few hours of driving. I love driving, so that part doesn't bother me. I just hope I don't get a drunk throw up all over my car. Basically, if you have a decent midsize car (or SUV to offer "premium" level driving) that's clean and can pass a basic inspection, and have insurance, that's all you really need to start. Both Uber and Lyft run background checks for safety concerns, which is good to know if you're a rider. In Lyft's case, you actually meet a mentor and they check out your car and talk to you like you're at an interview. Uber requires a mechanic's inspection, and you upload copies of your insurance, license, and other documents. So far, I've just done a few trips to get accustomed to the app and the whole process. It's amazing the different types of people you meet. You won't get rich doing it, but you can supplement a little income here or there, especially on big event nights, football games, etc.