BY ADRIAN MA — MARCH 19, 2020
“Until recently, Joel Paul had a full-time job working for a political advocacy group. Then, about a month ago, he got laid off.
“Perfect timing for coronavirus to hit,” Paul said.
He hadn’t bothered to file for unemployment, “because I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just switch to driving Lyft.’ “
But almost immediately after he started driving full-time, the flow of people around the city slowed way down as the coronavirus started to hit. First, the colleges started closing.
“It’s a significant drop just to have them gone,” said Paul, who spoke over video chat recently while seated behind the steering wheel of his parked car. “Then on top of that, all the bars or restaurants are closed as well. It’s catastrophic for anyone who’s driving Lyft or Uber full-time.'”
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