If you’ve ever used a ride-sharing app, you know that one of the most interesting parts of the experience is peering into the life of your driver. After all, these are the men and women easing the pain of traffic, getting you to the airport and keeping you from driving under the influence. What prompted them to sign on for this kind of work is often an interesting story.
Uber, currently Baton Rouge’s only ride-sharing service, launched in the Capital City in July 2014. Off the bat, self-starters who wanted to make extra money applied to become drivers, giving both revelers and everyday people a new, safe option for getting around.
We checked in with two of Baton Rouge’s highest-ranked Uber drivers, each of whom offers passengers a safe ride in a clean vehicle with all those nice Uber extras, including free mints and water. They gave us the inside scoop on why they drive and what they’ve seen along the way.
Rescue me
By day, Jacqueline Wright works at a law firm as a litigation assistant on mesothelioma cases. When the sun goes down, she and her Toyota Venza shuttle couples on dates and friends eager to have some fun.
“I like to say I’m the perfect person to take you there,” says Wright, 60, a nod to her preference for the early evening shift.
The California native says driving for Uber has been a therapeutic diversion from the grind of an office job and a good way to make extra money. Since August 2014, she’s driven at Uber’s X-level, the company’s basic level of service.
“The more I did it, the more I liked it,” Wright says. “My family thought I was crazy. They thought it was dangerous, but I have not had any scary moments. The GPS and cell phone connection makes me feel safe. You know who you’re picking up, and they know who you are.”
After working all day, Wright eases into her routine, filling up her car’s tank and heading to restaurant-dense neighborhoods until a request for a ride flashes on her driver app.
Like most Uber drivers, she takes full advantage of high demand during LSU games. While those occasions present colorful characters, her most memorable drive lately was one that took place as floodwaters rose on Saturday, Aug. 13.
Wright got a request to pick up Dan Gray and Teresa Alvarez in Baker. They were stranded without transportation and were trying to reach family on higher ground in Prairieville. Their house and car flooded, so the two were waiting in a McDonald’s parking lot with Alvarez’s dog and a few bags they had packed at the last minute, Wright says.
“I was glad to get them where they were going. They were exhausted,” Wright says.
As the waters continued to rise that weekend in south Louisiana, Uber discounted rides for flood victims.
Wright continues, “I spent the rest of that weekend getting people whose cars had flooded to shelters and other places they needed to go.”
This is personal
Uber driver Victor Silvio, whose 25-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver, doesn’t turn down any ride requests. Photo by Collin Richie.
Victor Silvio had spent nearly 20 years in the local fast food business, working his way through every position imaginable until he became a district manager for a major chain.
“I was just tired of it, and I wanted to do something different,” says Silvio, 60.
He saw news of Uber’s entrance into the Baton Rouge market on a local Sunday talk show in 2014 and decided to give it a try.
He filled out the online application and background checks and put his Honda Ridgeline pickup truck into circulation as an Uber X vehicle.
Silvio says he liked driving for Uber so much that he quit his job in fast food management. He now drives four nights a week and clocks 40-50 hours.
“The later it gets, the better it gets,” Silvio says. “That’s when the characters start coming out. I’ve had couples get into arguments, and I’ve had people get sick in the car.”
LSU home football games are big business in the fall, but the most robust day of the year, Silvio says, is the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Thousands attend house parties throughout the Garden District and later pour into Perkins Road overpass-area bars.
It’s those times—when he picks up passengers who’ve been drinking—that his job really means something. In 2013, Silvio’s 25-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver.
“He left behind two young children,” Silvio says. “That’s why I don’t refuse any rides.”
This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of 225 Magazine.
