> Instead of getting a glimpse into the new economy, I was getting full exposure to the burdens of the old economy — specifically, how hard it is for regular working people to make it from their home or apartment to a job every day.

I don't think this is justified. Uber is an alternative to crappy public transportation. He shouldn't compare Uber to some ideal that has never and likely will never exist. It's incredibly uplifting that some of those he profiles have access to a service like Uber with reasonable prices, from what I can tell and presumably the patrons assume.

I wish the author would have gone more into how much he actually made. He seems to have thrown out a very low figure but provided no context other than he's been driving for about 6 weeks and drives on weekends, squeezed in over lunch, or before or after work.