Driving For Lyft or Uber on Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend is usually a great weekend for rideshare driving. With the exception of the day before Thanksgiving, traffic should be pretty light.

Also, most drivers take most of the weekend off, so the drivers that are out should be pretty busy.

Here’s what to expect, along with a few tips, if you’re planning on driving Uber or Lyft this weekend.

Drive Prepared – What To Have In Your Car

• One or two bath towels
• Some paper towels, plastic bags, and Clorox wipes

Besides the items above, your trunk should be pretty empty.

What To Expect Wednesday – The Day Before Thanksgiving

Driving Lyft or Uber on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, expect a few airport runs. This is one reason why you’ll want a pretty empty trunk. You’ll also have an above average number of rides to and from grocery stores.

If you get a request going to the grocery store, on occasion, the passenger may ask you to wait while they shop. Do not wait, even if they say they’re just getting a couple of things.

Why You Don’t Wait At Grocery Stores: By the early afternoon, most grocery stores will be crowded. Even if the passenger is just getting a couple of things, you will be waiting for twenty minutes because of long checkout lines.

The day before Thanksgiving, the afternoon rush hour will start earlier than normal. Traffic will start getting heavier around 1pm. Expect more airport runs in the afternoon through the early evening.

When the evening rolls around, expect a lot of requests going to bars.

Thanksgiving is the beginning of the holiday season, which for many people means dealing with their family. In order to prepare for this, many choose to drink the night before.

While most people don’t get too drunk the day before Thanksgiving, you want the paper towels and plastic bags handy just in case.

What To Expect – Thanksgiving Day

In the morning, the airports are sometimes still busy. Flying on Thanksgiving morning is often cheaper than the day before, so you may be able to catch a rider going to or from the airport.

From the late morning until the early afternoon, you’ll mostly be taking passengers to Thanksgiving gatherings.

Often, they may be bringing containers of food to that gathering. This is why you want to have a bath towel to lay across your trunk, or the floor of your car.

People are generally pretty good about making sure the food containers are sealed or covered. However, stuff happens. If you have to stop short, and some food gets shaken out of the pan or baking dish, it’s better that it lands on a towel, as opposed to the floor of your car or trunk.

What To Expect – Friday to Sunday

The rest of the holiday weekend will be pretty busy, although there may be a few lulls. With the exception of Sunday afternoon, traffic should be very light.

On Friday, expect a lot of runs to and from malls. You want to keep your trunk empty because people really love to buy appliances and large electronics on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Make sure you have room in case someone needs to transport a television or other large item.

You’ll also have some airport runs, especially on Sunday. Throughout the weekend, expect an above average number of rides from the city to the burbs, and vice versa.

Other than that, it really won’t be much different from your average rideshare weekend, with people going to movies, restaurants, and stores.

Alright, that’s about it.

If you have another tip for drivers who will be out there this weekend, leave a comment below.

And if you know other drivers who could use these tips, share this article with them.

Have a safe, happy, and profitable Thanksgiving.