Her mobile office provides more than 'just a ride.' It's a place where people who hop in for a Lyft or Uber ride across town or across the state know they're safe, and in the hands of someone who cares. One of Macomb's first Lyft drivers recently hit her latest milestone – her 30,000th Uber/Lyft ride – since joining the companies as a gig driver.
While the first few Lyft drivers started in Macomb in the Spring 2019, Janine Cavicchia, the retired director of Western Illinois University's Women's Center, joined later that summer when she learned Lyft was available in Macomb. When Uber began in the region in October 2020 she started as a driver for that ride service as well. Her years of work in student affairs prepared her well for her second career, which is now six years strong, and the recent 30k ride mark is her sixth driving milestone in the last two months. Other milestones in recently include her 500th Uber Eats delivery and 100,000 miles in less than two years on her 2023 Toyota Sienna mini-van (including personal use and vacations). Why, after a 30+year career, did this retiree decide to get behind the wheel of her vehicle for 12+ hours a day, seven days a week, to tote residents and visitors to-and-fro?
Local Lyft & Uber Driver Janine Cavicchia recently reached another milestoneher 30,000th ride.
'I had been happy and busy in retirement for three years, but I love to drive, and I thought this would be fun to do a couple of hours a day a couple of days a week, so I thought 'why not?' And I knew there was a need for this. There was one taxi service in town and just a few Lyft drivers, so I decided to help fill the need for more ride options,' Cavicchia explained.
Her friend, and former student, Jerry Fess, was one of the region's first Lyft drivers, so she picked his brain to learn more, and with that, she became an independent contractor first for Lyft, and about a year later, for Uber. She added Uber Eats delivery to her routine in October 2023. When she first started, she'd go 'online' mid-morning and later throughout the day, when no other drivers were available or when it was particularly busy, and then was often on until 2 or 3 a.m. to get people home after a night out. After the pandemic started, Cavicchia and the other rideshare drivers found themselves getting even more requests for lifts.
'When the local taxi went out of business after the pandemic began, there was no one available to get people to the train and to work (and home from overnight work shifts) before 7a.m., so I started going on at 5:30 or 6 a.m. every day. Until the past few months, there haven't been any other drivers able or willing to start that early, so I've usually been the only driver on then. I've been very happy lately to see a couple of other drivers who are going on-line at or even before 6 a.m. as I am not a morning person,' she said with a smile.
All around town (and on highways here-and-there), you'll see the white mini-van, with the personalized plates UBRLFTR. And while she's on-the-go a lot with her post-retirement hustle, she does 'log out' to enjoy time with friends, attend meetings and other activities throughout the day, as well as traveling in the states and abroad with friends and family. Cavicchia answered the 'why' she does what she does after a long career, but what about what she attributes her long-running (driving) success?
'Through my involvement on campus and in the local community, I've gained a lot of useful knowledge and experience that I share with other drivers and our passengers, and I get to know a lot of my regular passengers too,' she shared. 'Also, because I'm retired, I'm one of the few Lyft and Uber drivers who doesn't work a full-time or one or more part-time jobs, so I'm able to be more available when no one else is on, or when it's especially busy and there's a need for a few more drivers.
'I really do attribute my success to being available, willing and able to help people get where they want and need to go, whether it's to the train, to and from work, medical appointments, stores, restaurants and out of town to catch flights, for family emergencies and a multitude of other reasons,' Cavicchia added.
A Spring 2024 article and accompanying video from Lyft's communications office (tinyurl.com/CavicchiaLyft) noted that if an individual requests a Lyft ride in Macomb, odds are – about 62 percent in fact – Cavicchia will be the driver that pulls up. She has regular passengers who request rides to get to work and appointments, and lots of passengers that she might see only once or a handful of times.
'Every day, Janine gets out of her warm bed and into the cold to get us where we need to go,' Tahoney Shaw, who has ridden with Cavicchia over 200 times, told Lyft.
When she first started, Cavicchia was driving a Toyota Prius (she went through three Priuses the first four years), but two years ago, she switched to her mini-van so she can fit more people and their luggage, shopping bags and whatnot. She also has couple of child-safety seats in the van so she doesn't have to decline rides for passengers who don't have their own.
'I really enjoy helping people get to where they want and need to go, and making it as easy for them as possible,' she pointed out. 'While it's a great way to earn income to help pay the bills, it's also a great way, to serve the community and meet people.'
Early on, Cavicchia committed to spending, donating and lending her earnings to local businesses, causes and individuals in her community. Her contributions have included the annual Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention, Tractor Town Macomb, the local police body cam project, WIU Dreamers scholarship program and the McDonough County Humane Society's new animal shelter fundraisers, and she has sponsored two Rocky on Parade bulldog statues. During the first few years of the pandemic, she gave her passengers gift cards to local restaurants, and she also she gives gift cards to her passengers when she hits major rideshare milestones.
I encourage anyone who's interested in doing it to go online and apply for Lyft and/or Uber, as well as Uber Eats and deliveries, Door Dash, Spark (Walmart delivery), etc. As long as they meet the age and vehicle requirements and pass the background checks, they should be approved within a week or so, and once they complete the on-line training, they can get started. Per Chapter 22 of the City of Macomb Municipal Code, “To ensure the public’s safety while utilizing ride sharing companies such as Lyft and Uber, the Macomb City Council requires registration of each ride share vehicle and driver.” New rideshare drivers just need to go City Hall to get registered with the City Clerk's Office (see Ride-Share-License-Application.pdf under Forms on the City of Macomb website).
During her six years of rideshare driving, Cavicchia estimates she's given more than 100 rides to Chicago and St. Louis, mostly to the airports, as well as hundreds of rides to communities within the region, such as Peoria, Springfield and the Quad Cities, plus lots of points in-between.
Her dedication – and commitment – to her driving career has garnered recognition from Lyft, which resulted in a corporate team spending four days in Macomb with Cavicchia to record her on the job. The resulting video and article was sent to media outlets throughout the U.S. She then had the honor of being featured in a feel-good news story on ABC World News Now and America This Morning with Danny New, 'Mr. Positivity,' (tinyurl.com/ JanineInterview), which aired last August on ABC News Live and on the 200+ ABC stations across the country. Cavicchia's story also was part of a recent article in The Ethel, an AARP blog about women, doing gig work after the age of 50 (tinyurl.com/Ethel-GigWork) In addition to the Lyft and Uber drivers out and about, Sue Adams, another WIU retiree, became credentialed as a livery driver about five years ago, starting her own business, Sue's Ride Service. Cavicchia praised Sue, and her husband, Tim, another WIU retiree, for bringing yet another ride service to the region to help meet the need and fill in the gaps.
Fess and Steven Barnum, another early local Lyft driver, created a Lyft/ Uber Facebook group for local drivers and one for riders so they have the opportunity to see when there are (and aren't) drivers available, share helpful information and to serve as a support system for one another.
'We all really enjoy helping Macomb area residents, visitors, contractors and others,' Cavicchia concluded. 'Most of our passengers shop, eat, utilize services and otherwise spend money locally, and while a portion of our ride payments go to the Lyft and Uber companies, we (the drivers) spend most of our earnings here in our community. It's a benefit for everyone involved, and it's a service that we gladly provide.'
As for the end of her driving career, Cavicchia isn't ready to retire as an 'UberLyfter' just quite yet.
'If I ever get burned out or there's no longer a need for so many drivers, maybe then I'll call it quits,' she concluded. 'Meanwhile, since there are some newer drivers who are able to be available more often, I’m starting to cut back on the number of hours I'm online each day. But right now, there's no end date in sight.'
