The Uber/Lyft Experience

I'm an occasional driver for Uber and Lyft. On a whim, I turned on the app yesterday while I was driving around doing errands. I had one rider. He paid me $29 to take him to and from a methadone clinic. 

I spent 15 minutes parked outside the clinic, waiting to drive this man home on the return trip.  A steady stream of people seeking methadone came and went as I sat there. It was raining. 

These people need help, and  I feel obligated to help them. This is the third time I’ve taken someone

to or from a methadone clinic. I can’t say I feel comfortable doing it, but I rationalize it by telling myself I'm doing a good deed. It's somewhat like doing volunteer work and getting paid for it. 

But it doesn't pay much. In this case the round trip took about 2 hours, including wait time. That works out to $11.60 per hour before gas expense -- not much for a guy with two college degrees, and this was one of my better days on a per-hour basis.