[Legal caveat: This article does not represent the opinions of Lyft or any of its employees.  Except me, of course.]

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*ahem*

Picture this.

Empty stage.
Matte black floor dotted with the remains of old tape.
A single light bulb dangles from an unseen chain above the stage.
Dusty curtains hang limply, neither open nor shut, simply there.

A woman emerges into the unflattering light carrying a wooden box.
She places the box on the black floor with a thump.
Reaching in her back pocket, she pulls out a container of hand soap.
Using a small caddy, she hooks it over the edge of the box.

Stepping up to stand on top of the box, spreading her arms for balance, the woman turns toward you and folds her hands demurely.
Holding a steady gaze, she smiles and begins to speak…

As you can see, I don’t usually use this as a stage for personal performances.  Nor am I inclined to publicly state my opinion on a divisive issue unless directly asked.  I figure Memphis is the way it is, for better or worse, and my opinions are what they are, whether anyone agrees or not.  I’ve reached a pretty zen state of acceptance about all that.  Fortunately, the situation with ride-sharing in Memphis does not seem that controversial, so I shouldn’t have to step too far out of my comfort zone.  I’ll just give you my thoughts as a driver for Lyft and a lover of the Memphis community.

It’s pretty obvious from the title what my point is.  The Greater Memphis Area NEEDS ride-sharing service.  It’s a super-lean industry that essentially helps facilitate carpooling.  Remember how hard it was to get a carpool together in the 90s.  You had to call everyone in advance to arrange pick-up times, organizing morning schedules around the HOV lane.  It was a mess.  Thanks to the same modern technology that brought us Angry Birds and Overprotective Mother Syndrome, there’s now an app for that.

Companies such as Lyft have capitalized on the unscrupulous nature of friendly people and designed a smartphone-based network that links willing passengers directly to nearby drivers.  (I use Lyft as my example simply because it’s the service I have personally experienced.)  It’s not that different from the age-old “money for gas” exchange that we used before the days of smartphones.  The only difference now is you don’t have to deal with the messy exchange of cash or that awkward conversation about why you only call when you need a ride.  A simple thanks and you can get on with your business.  The driver then fades into the background noise of your own little world.  Simple and cost-effective.

From the driver’s perspective, it’s great.  I get to spend the day making friends with strangers 15 minutes at a time. I am able to utilize the downtime my car usually spends parked in a driveway helping people around Memphis (and MS) get where they are going.  It’s faster than the bus, easier than a bike and more friendly than a taxi.  Just today I met people visiting Memphis from San Diego, a beauty school student, a personal trainer, and the founder of The Black Pinups, a Memphis-based burlesque troupe.  I’m grateful for the chance to encounter fascinating individuals from all walks of life that I would not otherwise meet.

More importantly, it fulfills a role Memphis has needed for a long time.  Designated drivers on demand!  Let’s face it, a good chunk of ride-sharing business serves the people who want to go out on the weekend and have fun.  Those are the people who use ride-sharing as a responsible alternative to driving while intoxicated.  Before Lyft was around, these people did not generally use taxis, so the change doesn’t affect cab businesses.  Don’t take my word for it, ask Memphis.  The shift toward ride-sharing is definitively making Memphis a safer place to drive.

Speaking of safety, the Lyft system offers two types of accountability.  Just to qualify as a driver you have to have a clean driving record, spotless background check, and a well-kept vehicle.  Not much slips by the initiation process, so we can rely on each other to stay safe and honest.  Also, after every ride passengers get to rate their drivers from 1 to 5 stars.  If they rate someone as a 3 or less, they will never get paired with that person again.

Fortunately, the same goes for the driver.  We can rate our passengers on the same scale, ensuring that we get a say in who rides in our cars.  That way, it’s a self-correcting system.  Passengers with consistently low ratings will have less rides available.  If a driver’s overall rating falls below a 4.6, they don’t get to drive for Lyft at all.  Everyone is rewarded for being friendly and safe.  Of course, I’ve yet to meet a Lyft driver who isn’t congenial.  Same goes for the passengers I’ve met.  Everyone involved recognizes how great this service is for our city.

The opposition to ride-sharing primarily comes from outdated transportation options.  I’ve lived here most of my life and the only people I know who use scheduled transportation do so grudgingly.  Taking a cab to work is cost prohibitive and using MATA becomes the only long distance option.  Walking and biking are often the least of all evils, as long as you know how to navigate Memphis traffic.  But really, who regularly uses cabs in Memphis?

Hey, here’s a fun fact: There’s one company that supplies a majority of the for-hire cars, trucks, limos, taxis and buses in the Memphis area .  That company is also one of the main dissenters against ride-sharing in Memphis.  I’m not an economics major, but I think there’s a connection there.

So I urge you to give ride-sharing a try.  Whether you don’t have a car or you just don’t want to deal with parking, it’s a refreshing way to get around town and meet new people in the process.  The coverage area for Lyft is pretty vast and I have seen available drivers almost everywhere on any given day.  If there’s not a regular driver in your area, that might be a great opportunity to make some extra money for yourself.  Even if you don’t need ride-sharing, spread the word about the service.  There are people all over Memphis that can use a safe way home after a night out on the town.

Let’s bring Memphis communities together so we can all get where we need to go and stay safe doing it!