On demand economy making a difference

On demand is in demand. With the world changing rapidly before us and closing the gap between service and communication, the On Demand economy is booming.  On demand services provide us with fast food, 5 star restaurant food, groceries, clothing, rides, electronics and many other services with just the tap of a button on your smartphone. Many can earn money online and earn money offline with just about any of the on demand services available. Several of the on demand services allow anyone with a car, bike and a smartphone to earn income through their platforms almost immediately.  There are directories such as IncomeOnDemand.us that have put together extensive lists of on demand companies where anyone can work for to earn income.  There are also the guides like traceforce  and a resource filled article that has on demand opportunities mostly for technicians and repair people. Either way, the companies are out there and they want you, and you may want them if you’re in the market to make extra and or full time income.

With Uber ridesharing service being the model that almost everyone has mimicked, they are also the company taking the most punches for some of their business practices and some of the actions of their independent contracted drivers.

Being an avid Uber customer and having taken an estimated 500 trips using Uber worldwide, I have to say that I love what Uber is doing indirectly for many people the use the service as well as for those that drive for Uber. Hailing from Chicago I was excited when Uber launched in 2013. I had previously used the service in California and loved it from the start and now, many others swear by it as I do.

Sure, the media pounces all over anything that Uber and or their drivers do. Being one of the biggest brands at the time, of course the media is going to take everything that happens in, around or within a 100 mile radius of an Uber car as a “See, they’re not so great” scenario. I mean really! If a guy trips over a freaking banana peel and there was an Uber driver 5 miles away that once ate a banana, it gets twisted and makes the nightly news.  Sure, there have been some Uber drivers that have committed some terrible acts and did just plain stupid things, but the same and much worse has happened and is happening with Taxi drivers. Haven’t there been several Taxi driver serial killers over the past few decades?

What most don’t seem to realize is that the media has to butter stories up and reel you in with hyped up headlines and twisted facts in order to get you to tune in. YOU the viewer are what pays for their news to air. Advertisers have their way with you as the station keeps reeling you in to wait for the latest Uber story! And…you wait. Cha-Ching! They got paid, and you got a story that is either half true or nowhere near what really took place.

So, saying all of that to say this, I’d like to share some of the experiences that I have heard from Uber drivers and other On Demand economy drivers. Experiences that the media won’t talk about because they are great stories. They are stories of how Uber and services alike are making a real difference in many lives.

As I bounce around the city of Chicago and the United States for work, I Use Uber religiously. While some of my trips are short, many of them are long enough for me to have some great conversations with my drivers. Something that was far from an option when I took traditional Taxi’s years ago. Something about the Uber drivers where most of them just seem to have upbeat and outgoing personalities. No offense to taxi drivers, but it’s very cut and dry with most of my experiences as I recollect.

Over many trips and conversations with drivers I have learned that Uber has provided a steady source of income for many that previously had trouble finding work. Now they can live a decent lifestyle because of the earning income opportunity that Uber provides them. “It’s like making money from home” I was told. Many drivers have told me that Uber has been able to provide rides to and from work to patrons that live in underserved communities where traditional Taxi’s would refuse to drop off or even pick up. Also, the social connections that Uber initiates is incredible. From drivers I have heard about passengers setting them up with sports games, concerts, restaurants, job opportunities and too many other things to mention. One driver told me that he met the love of his life who was a passenger and has exposed him to a world of experiences that he’d never imagined. They are now engaged.

Many drivers have told me that driving for Uber has been able to take them out of their own neighborhoods where they have spent most of their lives, and that they are now being exposed to parts of the city that they never knew existed.   They’ve spoken about the new experiences that they’ve had by trying new restaurants and cuisines.  Going to new places, listening to new music because one of their patrons requested a specific station or plugged in their own music. To say it simply, one of my Uber driver’s told me that she feel like she is now multi cultured since driving Uber and is now more opened to new people and new things that she once considered so farfetched.  Let me ask you, why doesn’t the nightly news report that? Why don’t they talk about how Uber has created a source of income for people, how the service has taken people out of their familiar comfort zones and has exposed them to new and great experiences? Through Uber, drivers and passengers have become friends, have shared with each other, have exchanged many experiences and in turn, helped one another. An UberConnection! Where is the media on that? I think that is great and I truly hope that Uber makes millions more humanity touches like that throughout the world! You Go UBER!!!