Need a Lyft, or maybe an Uber?

Adam Mundt used to work for the Ozaukee County shared-ride taxi service, and he’s found that he’s driving many of those same customers now as an Uber and Lyft driver.

Mundt, who drives primarily during the day, said business is bustling. He takes everyone from senior citizens to businesspeople to work, to doctor appointments and to the airport.

Robert Valadez, who’s taking a few weeks off his job as a Lyft driver as he recovers from carpal tunnel surgery, drives primarily at night — something he’s used to, he said, because he generally worked third shift.

But, he said, business locally is slower than he anticipated.

“Everybody is happy to have the option,” Valadez said. “They just don’t use it.”

The Port Washington men are among the legions of people making a living, in part, by working as drivers for ride-sharing services.

While Uber and Lyft are common in large cities, most people don’t think of them in small towns, in part because the number of drivers available locally is limited.

Mundt said he started driving for the ride-sharing services almost three years ago. He owns a business in Madison and heads there on weekends to handle operations, but after he and his wife moved to Port he was looking for something else to do.

He joined the fire department and began working for the county’s shared-ride taxi service, a job he said he enjoyed for 3-1/2 years, but a back injury forced him to leave. 

About that time, he said, Uber began to catch on so he decided to give that a whirl.

His first experience, he said, was on Thanksgiving night, when he figured he would give a few rides then join his family for a few holiday drinks. He got a ping from a woman in Saukville who was heading to the south side of Chicago, Mundt said.

“Four hours of driving on Thanksgiving,” he said. “I never made it to the bar that night.”

The experience scared him away for a time, he said, noting drivers don’t know where they’ll be heading until they pick a passenger up.

“I try to stay in the area. I don’t like going to Chicago,” he said, but he does it about twice a week — often enough to justify getting an iPass. 

Mundt did turn the app on again, initially driving at night but eventually settling on a regular schedule of daytime rides on weekdays. He turns his app on at 6 a.m. most days and aims to be done by 3 p.m.

“A lot of my riders are regulars,” he said. “A lot of it is the business crowd. There are some people I see every single day.”

He also has a number of frequent riders who are work-release prisoners at the Ozaukee County jail, he said.

In addition to business travel, Mundt said he has many pickups at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton.

Mundt, who drives a Prius, drives for both Uber and Lyft, although he said Uber seems more popular in Ozaukee County. He recommends riders check both since the cost can vary depending on demand and time of day.

He did that this year when he used ride-sharing for the first time to go to Summerfest and saved $23, Mundt said.

“You’re shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t check both,” he said.

Valadez, who only provides rides through Lyft, started offering his service about three years ago but after giving a few rides he decided it wasn’t for him. 

He did it initially after talking to the owners of Sir James Pub about the need for a taxi service, particularly at night.

“I said I’ll be the driver,” Valadez said. “I thought, ‘There is no 24-hour taxi in Ozaukee County but there is a need.’”

He felt uneasy after giving a ride to a group of inebriated people heading to the airport at 2:30 a.m. without luggage, Valadez said, and he had encountered too many drunken passengers who were rude.

He was so disillusioned that he didn’t offer rides again for more than a year, until he lost his job at a plastics company due to medical issues. Driving his Altima helps pay those medical bills, Valadez said.

“It’s not something I plan on doing all the time,” he said. “Right now, it’s just temporary.”

It’s been a little easier to drive this time around, Valadez said.

“I’m a little older and wiser now. You just have to have thick skin,” he said. “You have to expect the worst. Mostly the good people outweigh the bad, but you’re always going to have those other people out there.”

He usually starts giving rides about 6 p.m., heading to Milwaukee about 9 p.m. if business is slow locally and then returning about 3 a.m.

He said he’s surprised how few people in the area use the service. On Fish Day, he said, he only provided six rides.

“I saw plenty of people pulled over,” he said. “There should have been more people riding than driving.

“I don’t know if they don’t know about it or if they think they’re only going a couple blocks so they can drive.”

He said many riders head to Milwaukee for shopping or to go to the theater or bars, or to O’Hare Airport in Chicago. 

After taking someone to those destinations, he said, he often gives rides there for a while, working his way back home. There aren’t many drivers offering ride-share services in Ozaukee County, Mundt and Valadez said.

“A lot of drivers don’t want to come here (from the Milwaukee area) just to give a three-minute ride to someone,” Valadez said.

Both Mundt and Valadez said they have been known to give their number out to people so they can contact them if they don’t have their app turned on. They then turn on their app and take the call.

“It’s not exactly how it’s supposed to work, but if I’m available, I’ll do it,” Valadez said.

Mundt said he enjoys driving.

“I like to talk to people, and I like to meet new people,” he said, noting he’s driven people from throughout the world to places such as the AirVenture event in Oshkosh sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association. 

“It’s fun. I recommend it to anyone with free time and a car.”

And while tips are nice, Mundt said, “The nicest thing you can do is rate me. We’re not like waiters who depend on tips.”