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Before dawn broke over Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) one recent Tuesday, hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers had already congregated nearby, their vehicles stretching around the block. It was 5 a.m., and the waiting game was beginning for these gig workers seeking airport pickups.
The Waiting Game: Life in the LAX “Pen”
Within minutes, the procession of cars would enter a fenced-off parking area, situated a mile from the arrival terminals. Officially known as the Transportation Network Company Staging Area, it’s commonly referred to by drivers as the “pen,” a designated space where they await matches with passengers disembarking from flights.
This location was once a lucrative spot for securing fares and earning substantial income. However, currently, ride requests appear scarce. Veronica Hernandez, 50, parked her white Chevy Malibu at 5:26 a.m. and consulted the Lyft app to ascertain her position in the queue: 156th. It would be an hour and a half before she secured her first fare of the day.
“You have good days and bad days,” Ms. Hernandez stated, as she navigated through a screen displaying her daily earnings on the app for that week: $205, $245, $179. “Hopefully it’s a good day.”
Declining Earnings for Ride-Hailing Drivers
Mirroring the experiences of ride-hailing drivers nationwide, Ms. Hernandez has witnessed a decrease in her compensation in recent years, even as the demand for her services seemingly increases. Moreover, with the escalating costs of fuel and vehicle insurance, the already narrow profit margins of gig work are becoming increasingly unsustainable, she noted. LAX, acclaimed as one of the world’s busiest airports, stands as a prime example of these challenges, proving to be one of the most challenging environments for gig workers to earn a sustainable living.
“It used to be a real way to earn money,” Ms. Hernandez lamented. “Now you can barely survive on it.”
The Rise and Fall of Gig Economy Earnings
In the initial stages of app-based platforms like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, numerous individuals were drawn to registering as drivers. The allure of generating income simply by transporting passengers in their own vehicles, according to their preferred hours, resonated with a diverse spectrum of individuals, spanning from professional chauffeurs seeking supplemental income to service industry employees who recognized the potential to liberate themselves from traditional 9-to-5 employment.
The cornerstone of this model was the designation of drivers as independent contractors, responsible for covering their own expenses, without access to health insurance or other employment benefits, yet granted the autonomy to determine their work schedules, free from mandated shifts or supervisory oversight.
Initially, compensation levels were notably elevated. Drivers routinely amassed thousands of dollars weekly, as Uber and Lyft prioritized growth over profitability, reporting quarterly losses amounting to billions of dollars. However, upon transitioning to publicly traded companies, profitability assumed paramount importance, leading to a progressive reduction in wages.
The Impact of Inflation
Currently, earnings have failed to keep pace with inflation, and for numerous drivers, have diminished in real terms. Last year, Uber drivers garnered an average of $513 per week in gross earnings, reflecting a 3.4 percent contraction from the preceding year, despite working an average of six additional minutes per week, according to Gridwise, an application designed to collect data and assist drivers in monitoring their earnings. For drivers operating in Los Angeles, average hourly earnings on Uber have declined by 21 percent since 2021, as per Gridwise data.
LAX Challenges: The Driver’s Perspective
LAX implemented the new system in 2019, aiming to alleviate the congestion at the arrival terminal. Instead of being picked up curbside by Uber and Lyft drivers, passengers are now required to walk or take a shuttle from their terminal to a designated pickup location called LAX-it, adjacent to Terminal 1, potentially adding up to 20 minutes to their journey. However, the driver’s experience remains largely unseen by passengers.
That morning, inside the holding area, amidst hundreds of parked vehicles and the pervasive odor of portable restrooms, the atmosphere was bleak. Drivers endured hours of waiting to secure rides – dubbed “unicorns” – that would yield a respectable wage exceeding $1.50 per mile.
Chaos in the Pen
By 10 a.m., the holding area descended into disorder. While approximately 300 drivers are ostensibly in the virtual queue at any given time, the parking lot accommodates only around 200 vehicles. Consequently, as new arrivals entered, they resorted to double-parking in front of existing vehicles awaiting passenger assignments. This resulted in a cacophony of honking and shouting, overshadowed only by the deafening roar of jet aircraft overhead, landing or taking off at approximately two-minute intervals.
Coping Mechanisms in the Holding Lot
Sergio Avedian, a gig driver and senior contributor to The Rideshare Guy, a ride-hailing blog, settled into the holding area on a recent Tuesday morning at 10:36. After securing a parking space, he checked his queue position – 256th in line.
As he monitored the Uber and Lyft applications, ride requests surfaced, having been declined by drivers higher in the queue. However, the offered rates were meager: $9.87 for a 13-mile journey, $19.97 for a 25-mile trip, and so forth. He rejected each one.
“We call this ‘decline and recline,” Mr. Avedian said, as he reclined his front seat.
To fill the time, groups of drivers engage in smoking cigarettes and playing cards. Others nap in their vehicles or stream YouTube videos. Some circulate, peddling phone chargers and car-cleaning products. Occasionally, disagreements erupt among different factions – sometimes along racial lines – as competition for dwindling trips intensifies.
A Separate Economy
A distinct economy has emerged within the holding area to cater to drivers’ needs. While taco trucks operate outside the parking lot, some women sell Chinese cuisine from the trunks of their cars, bartering plastic bowls of wonton soup for cash.
Some drivers have expressed their discontent by scrawling expletives aimed at Uber and its executives on the walls inside the portable restrooms, decrying lengthy, uncompensated trips, or unexplained account suspensions.
Personal Struggles Amidst Declining Wages
Seated in the rear of his Toyota Sienna, Andreh Andrias smoked a cigarette while refreshing his Uber app. Mr. Andrias, a 57-year-old émigré from Iran, recounted earning $3,000 per week before expenses driving for Uber prior to the pandemic, a figure that has since significantly decreased. He scrolled through his latest weekly earnings on his smartphone: $1,670, $1,700, $1,053.
“You have to take care of the family,” said Mr. Andrias, who supports a wife and daughter and faces monthly vehicle and rent payments exceeding $7,000. “Right now, I cannot.”
Uber’s Response and Future Prospects
The New York Times initially inquired with Uber about the working conditions at LAX in 2023, and the company acknowledged awareness of ongoing issues. However, conditions have remained largely unchanged in the intervening years.
Uber attributed the lower wages to a confluence of factors, asserting that its commission rate – the percentage of each ride’s fare retained by the company – has not increased in Los Angeles. However, liability insurance costs, the company stated, have surged, now accounting for 43 percent of the passenger fare.
The company also cited a $4 surcharge for ride-hailing drivers at LAX, coupled with the new pickup system, as significantly diminishing the demand for rides at the airport.
LAX and Lyft’s Plans
A representative from LAX’s public relations division did not respond to requests for comments.
C.J. Macklin, a spokesman for Lyft, indicated that the company is collaborating with LAX to develop a new holding lot for ride-hailing drivers, slated for construction as part of the airport’s $5.5 billion modernization project, which incorporates a light rail system connecting terminals and is intended to alleviate traffic congestion.
“A year from now, LAX will look completely different, and we’re excited for a smoother, faster experience for drivers, riders and the entire city,” Meghan Casserly, an Uber spokeswoman, commented in a statement.
The Psychology of the Gig Economy
In the holding lot, a pervasive sense of listlessness prevailed; the discontent and extended waiting times seemed to paralyze drivers, even when a seemingly advantageous ride appeared on their devices.
“There’s drivers who really don’t know what they’re doing, and they end up at the lot just because they don’t know any better,” said Pablo Gomez, an Uber driver who frequents LAX. “They dropped off a passenger, it said to go to the lot, and they’re like, ‘OK.’ They don’t even know what they’re waiting for.”
Driver advocates, such as Mr. Avedian and Mr. Gomez, endeavor to assist drivers in strategizing and optimizing their time. However, Mr. Gomez also empathizes with those who continuously hope for a big score. He admits to being a former compulsive gambler, and sees similarities driving for Uber.
“The wasted time is part of that psychology of the addict. You’re just chasing that ride, that score,” he said.
The End of the Line
At 2 a.m., upon the pen’s closure, some drivers departed to locate parking spots elsewhere, where they would sleep in their cars until the lot’s reopening at 5 a.m. Others hoped to secure one final ride in the direction of their homes, many of which were located over an hour away.
A Final Fare
Ms. Hernandez was sitting on the hood of her car on Tuesday when it hit 11 p.m., her time to head home. She watched as offers popped up on her phone against the wallpaper of her two children, ages 25 and 26. In between rides, she checked her email, hoping to hear back from jobs she recently applied for at a doctor’s office and a warehouse.
Finally, a ride appeared that would take her near her home in Montebello, located a 50-minute drive east. It was only $28 for a 27-mile trip – far from a “unicorn” – but she accepted.
“It’s not the best rate,” she said. “But you have to make it worth your time.”