'I am getting them home safely': New York City Uber driver lists merits of the job

Economics
Uberdriver
"I am preventing. I am getting them home safely," one Uber driver said of her job. | Adobe Stock

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Sponsored Content — Princess Monteiro works two jobs in New York City: She's a ride-hail driver and a mother of two. 

Coming up on her sixth year as an Uber driver, Monteiro has seen every inch of the city and embraced every passenger to ever sit in her car, all while taking care of her two children as a single mom. 

"I start at like 8:30 after I drop off my oldest daughter at school, I head home around now two o'clock to make sure that I beat traffic, and I'm there for them when they get home," she said. "Sometimes I'll go out in the evening if someone is available to mind the kids for me."

In her own words, Monteiro states that she's always been self-employed. Before becoming a full-time Uber driver, she maintained a separate apparel business, manufacturing both apparel and footwear. Seeking flexibility from her job, she became an Uber driver solely so she could work at her own leisure and pace. 

"I didn't foresee the earnings was Uber, I didn't know what the earnings would be, so that's not one of the reasons why I signed up," she said. "But I just knew that it was flexible in a way to earn money."

Nowadays, Monteiro works mornings and afternoons, only dipping into the evening hours when she needs the extra money. Of all the faces that pass through her car, at least 80% have been fantastic passengers, with some offering to buy her dinner or presenting her with large tips just for being interesting. But at the end of the day, it's the service to others that Monteiro prides herself on. 

"I am preventing. I am getting them home safely," Monteiro says when explaining inebriated passengers. "We have to also be mindful passengers may have car sickness, motion sickness, PTSD, so we have to be psychic, you know, it's not easy."

At the end of the day, Monteiro works to get people to their destination while making it home to be with her children after school. 

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