If you are slightly chatty after a night out, you’ll know that Uber drivers sometimes have the most fascinating and even heartbreaking life stories of all.
Having gone from being a bureau chief at global news agency Reuters, to an Uber driver in Washington, Steven Scherer is no stranger to great tales.
“I used to think I was different from the migrants I wrote about – protected by a passport, a salary, a press badge. But the past two years have stripped away that illusion,” said Mr Scherer in a Substack post about the devastating job cuts that decimated his industry, leaving him out work as a journalist and trying and make ends meet as a driver for hire.
In his Substack post, he detailed how he went from interviewing prime ministers and CEOs to chauffeuring drunk people and those running late to the airport.
Previously writing as a foreign correspondent covering politics, migration and economics, the world was once wide-open and inviting for the US journalist, who was based in Ottawa, Canada with Reuters.
But the fall from the top completely dismantled Mr Scherer’s life.
In 2024, with five years as Reuters bureau chief under his belt, he lost his job in a cost-cutting drive.
He lost his job just after buying a home in Canada and putting his children in local schools, and while he was applying for Canadian citizenship.
His sudden unemployed status instantly “weakened” his application and the dream of creating a permanent home in Ottawa completely fell apart.
“The great and kind Canada, the country where I thought I would settle at least until my children were adults, had chewed me up and spat me out,” he wrote.
With his visa having been sponsored by Reuters’ he could not legally work, “not even for Uber”.
To save their dwindling money, Mr Scherer’s wife and children moved to stay with family in Italy while he attempted to find work back in the US.
The move was tortuous and his battle to find a job proved incredibly difficult.
“I wept uncontrollably in the airport parking lot, not knowing when I would see (my family) again,” he said.
Mr Scherer remembered thinking if all else fails, he would drive for Uber.
From running an office full of journalists to waiting for a ride request, the pay cut has been detrimental.
“I’m unlikely to exceed the $US36,580 ($52,175) per year that is the federal poverty guideline, and it takes twice that much to live comfortably in Northern Virginia,” he shared.
“I trust an app to buy me another day.”
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With his office now being the front seat of his own vehicle, Mr Scherer’s perspective has forever altered.
When covering international human displacement, he “didn’t really understand” what would drive a person to attempt such dangerous journeys.
“Now I am closer to understanding that kind of desperation,” the ex-journalist said.
Mr Scherer’s journey is a sobering reminder of how quickly the distance between the reporter and the reporter can vanish.
With stories such as these, it’s clear a simple thank you or smile in the rearview mirror can go a long way.
