Rideshare and Cab Drivers Should Use These Tips to Stay Safe

Being a rideshare or cab driver can be a great way to earn a living or supplement one's own income. Many drivers prefer the freedom of clocking in when they want to and taking off whenever they choose to. It's no wonder that so many people look to big companies like Uber and Lyft to make money on their own schedule.

Being a cab or rideshare driver means that one will come into a lot of contact with other individuals. This can be great to create an interesting day. However, it can also pose some health risks. The pandemic has shown just how risky it can be for many drivers. People can carry a number of viruses and infections. Every time a person gets into a rideshare vehicle, they're bringing those potential diseases with them. Sometimes just breathing or a touch of a seat is all it takes to spread illness.

As a driver, it's one's responsibility to protect their own health and the health of their passengers. By practicing some common tips on how to stay safe while driving a rideshare vehicle or cab, one can greatly reduce the risk of contracting an illness. And, they can reduce the risk of their fares contracting illnesses for other previous fares.

1 - Sanitize Regularly

As a rideshare or cab driver, it's a good idea to take a few moments between fares to sanitize your vehicle. This is as simple as using a wet wipe to sanitize the most commonly touched surfaces during a ride. These include the outside door handle, the interior door trim, and the back of the seat. These can be easily sanitized with one swipe of a wet wipe. Once the day is over, it's best to do a thorough cleaning of the entire car. This means shampooing the carpets, scrubbing the seats, and cleaning the glass. By performing a deep cleaning after every shift, a driver can ensure that their vehicle is safe for them and their fares.

2 - Don't Drive While Sick

As a rideshare or cab driver, it's vital to take the health of your fares into consideration each day. If one is feeling sick, then it's not a good idea to fare customers around. One would, essentially, be exposing all of their fares to their illness. Just as one would expect a sick person to stay home and not call for a ride, drivers should respect their end of the bargain and skip working on days when they're sick.

3 - Use An Air Purifier

One great device that can be used in all vehicles is a pluggable air purifier. Most of these simply plug into the cigarette lighter. If one's vehicle has multiple cigarette lighters, one in the front and one in the back, that's even better. It's advisable to purchase multiple pluggable air purifiers. If one would rather invest in a larger air purifier for their ride, they can grab some rechargeable options online. Many of these are the size of a can of soda and can purify a large amount of air.

4 - Open Doors And Trunks For Passengers

When it comes to keeping a vehicle clean, one of the best ways to do so is to minimize the number of places that a fare touches. By meeting the customer as they get into the car, one can eliminate the customer's need to touch the outside of the car's door. Also, by loading a fare's bags in the trunk oneself, they can eliminate the contact that a fare has with the trunk. A driver has the ability to limit the spread of infection by wearing disposable gloves or sanitizing their hands after each loading and unloading process. This gives them more control over the exposure area than just letting fares handle the areas themselves.

5 - Use Contactless Payments

Another great safety tip for both drivers and passengers is to use a contactless payment system. Most rideshare companies already collect the payment via an online platform. However, not all cab companies do so. By finding a way for customers to pay online, drivers are handling fewer credit cards and cash bills throughout the day. Be sure that whatever payment system one uses that it offers an easy option for tipping. This will also limit one's use of handling cash or credit cards throughout their shift.