In the harsh light of the evil Day Star
Well, that was the worst Friday night I've had since I started driving for Uber. It was fairly slow in and around the Strip, especially for a Friday night; there seemed to be just as many people around as on a normal Friday night, but for the most part, they weren't calling for Uber rides. So, after dropping off a young man in North Las Vegas about 0300, I headed for the Uber lot at the Speedway to get some of that sweet guaranteed money, but I took a wrong turn, had to go back down to Lamb and get on to the 15 there...and as a result wound up spending the next three-four hours trapped in traffic. I finally arrived at the lot around 0715, and found that while the lot was full of Uber drivers and a surge was allegedly in effect, there were no riders to be picked up. I hung around until 0815 before giving up and heading home. That took me another hour or so on Las Vegas Boulevard since of course the southbound I-15 was all jacked up with people leaving EDC. Obviously Uber's desperate call for drivers was answered in abundance, while their projections of demand fell well short of the supply of drivers. I almost certainly would have done better just hanging around the Strip doing the normal Friday night thing. I'm undecided whether I want to risk getting stuck in traffic again Saturday night/Sunday morning for the sake of a guaranteed gross of $80 if I manage to get in early enough, or just say to hell with it and go about my business. Obviously there is no way in heaven, hell, or earth I'm going to collect that $500 bonus, and I doubt if anyone else will either, since the notion of someone managing more than one rider out of that shitshow is patently ridiculous. Have to sleep on it.