An Air Force veteran with a back injury turned to Uber and Lyft driving to pay her bills. A few months later, she lost her apartment.

• Rene, 48, said she's struggling to make ends meet as a gig driver for Uber and Lyft.
• She can't work a 9-to-5 due to a back condition she said she developed in the Air Force.

Rene, 48, has driven for Lyft and Uber in the Denver area to escape from more traditional 9-to-5 jobs. Since then, the Air Force veteran with a debilitating back injury said she had to give up her apartment since she couldn't afford her rent.

Rene, who asked to use her first name for fear of retribution, said after joining the Air Force in 1997 and dealing with intense pain since basic training, she's struggled to maintain a job. She said it became too difficult to work consistently, and she needed the flexibility to work when she felt up for it.

She took up gig driving in August 2023, hoping it would help her pay bills. However, increased competition for rides in her area and earnings that come in at about $10 to $15 an hour after taxes and car expenses have forced her to consider other options.

"It's pretty hard to say to an employer, 'I can't sit for more than two hours, but I need to make a full-time wage,'" she said.

Across the country, thousands of Americans with disabilities are looking to gig work to make ends meet. As many Americans with disabilities are unable to put in 40 hours a week or sit behind a desk for eight hours a day, many look to the flexibility of gig roles including ride-hail driving, allowing them to work for a few hours a week and craft a schedule around medical appointments or recovery days.

Still, many gig drivers with disabilities — including veterans — aren't making enough per hour to pay their rent and car bills given gas prices and the cost of vehicle maintenance.

In statements to Business Insider, Uber and Lyft previously outlined their commitments to supporting disabled drivers through accessibility and antidiscrimination policies and resources for various physical and mental disabilities.

Getting back into the workforce

On the heels of a divorce, Rene joined the Air Force, though she developed a back injury during basic training. She was able to work through the pain and became an active-duty member, though she said she faced harassment from her supervisor that led her to seek therapy. After her grandmother became ill and needed care, she left the Air Force.

Since then, she said she has been diagnosed with PTSD, REM sleep disorder, and sleep terrors, medical records shared with BI show. She still needs to see a chiropractor for her back condition, which has been costly. She said she now has trouble digesting food and may need spinal fusion surgery, which would put her out of work for at least six months.

"I'm at the point where I have spent all these years not being able to live life," Rene said. "I can't do hiking, biking, camping, skiing, I can't do any of that. I'm in pain if I just stand over the sink to do the dishes as a single person."

Rene was denied by the VA to receive disability compensation. Documents she shared with Business Insider showed the VA couldn't find direct evidence to support that her injuries were service-connected.

"VA wants to ensure all Veterans, family members and survivors receive the benefits they are entitled to and our goal is to work with Veterans every step of the way to get to 'yes,'" the VA's press secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement to BI. "Service connection for disability benefits generally requires three elements – qualifying service, as well as medical evidence of a current physical or mental disability; and evidence of a relationship between the disability and an injury, disease, or event in military service."

She said working in any job requiring physical activity is impractical, as she can't lift things or sit for too long. She worked as a real-estate investor, the director of operations for a brokerage company, and a business process consultant, though she said recently it's been too difficult to maintain a constant workflow. She quit her real-estate job since after an open house, she said she could not work for two or three days.

She hasn't been able to find other types of gig work that fit her needs, even as driving becomes more painful amid headaches and back pain.

"There's no life, no self-care, exercise. There's no time for relationships because your whole day is spent managing the pain and then trying to squeeze in hours to pay the bills," Rene said.

In 2015, she tried gig driving for a few months in Fort Collins, which she said was profitable but not as much as a full-time job. She recently started driving for Uber and Lyft when she felt up for it.

She said the uncertainty of knowing how many miles she will drive or how many rides she will get has been difficult with her disabilities, as she never knows how long she can drive. Typically, she can only drive between two and four hours at a time, and after a longer day on the road, she needs a day or two to recover.

Bonuses have also been a challenge for her to achieve, as many require dozens of rides in a short time period. She estimates before taxes, she will pull in $150 to $175 after gas if she works a 13-hour day. This excludes her oil changes, tire replacements, and other car maintenance expenses. After all calculations are made, she estimates she's making around $10 an hour.

Figuring out what's next

The month after she started, she made about $1,400 from driving, which isn't close to the $3,900 she has in monthly expenses.

Documents shared with BI show that between September 18 and October 22, 2023 — which she said was her busiest period — Rene drove 264 rides and made a total of about $4,200 in earnings. These rides were done over 150 hours, or 30 hours a week. Recently, though, she said rides have been slow and she's taken more time off.

The time she spends on the road has taken away from the time she needs to spend on medical appointments and VA paperwork. She recently lost her apartment as she was a few months behind on payments, and she's had to move in with her family temporarily.

She's looked at other gig opportunities on Fiverr, and she's tried contacting past employers or friends to see if she could do virtual freelance. She fears she may need to sell many of her belongings so she doesn't need to pay much for storage.

She's tried strategizing to pull in the most money she could given her conditions, including being on the road by 5 a.m., which allows her to get more profitable airport rides. She chooses not to do lengthier rides — on a recent ride over 140 minutes away, she pulled in $70 but couldn't find rides on the way back.

She also said she tries to keep her car as clean as possible and has gotten better at "reading people" to gauge when passengers are more willing to talk. She's had meaningful conversations with people and has guided them through difficult times.

"I've had therapy sessions in the car where somebody was just really struggling," she said. "The one thing that I like about my job is I can be an ear to support people in their day if they're struggling."

Are you a rideshare driver who is struggling to pay bills? Are you a gig worker who is a veteran or has a disability? If you'd like to share your story, reach out to nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.