“I could maybe make $20 a night,' she said. At the same time, more people seemed to be trying to drive Uber and Lyft part-time to earn Christmas money. 15, Springfield drivers began getting fewer ride requests - in part, she thinks, because college students went home for the holidays. But then, as drivers say frequently happens with ride-hailing work, demand for rides in the Springfield area shifted. Helgemo said that when she began driving for the apps last September, she made $2,500 per month, working about 25 hours per week. She’s learned to endure dirty looks at the gas station from traditional taxi drivers. She spent more than $400 on floor mats and barf bags decorated with emoji, and she keeps Febreze in the car to spritz after every ride. After another episode, she had to take off an interior door panel for cleanup. Sometimes they vomit - on one occasion, out of both sides of her van.

The fun continues from there, Helgemo said. Instead, the 35-year-old mother of five steers her 2017 Chrysler Pacifica to a west Springfield nightclub, where lines of cars 15 deep sometimes clog the parking lot and the closing-time scene features 'screaming and yelling, people fighting, all that chaos.'

Picking up travelers just isn't worth it, according to Dorothy Helgemo, who said she might wait three hours in a nearby parking lot and get one ride request on her phone. Correction: Retired police major Jim McCulloch's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.įor anyone looking to dominate the Springfield scene as an Uber or Lyft driver, the airport is to be avoided.

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