This was apparently some sort of experiment but it makes a great story.

Meghan Keenan of Red Alert Politics reports.

University president turned Uber driver says sharing economy benefits poor

Lawrence Schall, the Oglethorpe College president who decided to perform a “social experiment” working part-time as an Uber driver, shared several things he learned about the popular, and sometimes controversial, ridesharing service.

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Schall described how easy it was to start working for the company.

“If you possess a fairly new and clean car without visible dents and have a decent driving record, you can join the Uber labor force almost instantaneously,” he wrote.

In addition to being a convenient option for those looking for part-time work, Schall was also surprised to learn that many Uber riders in Atlanta are the city’s low-income residents looking for a fast and cheap way to get home from work.

Schall was expecting to pick up a lot of college students and young people using the service to get home from bars. Instead, he found himself driving most passengers to and from the MARTA train station – the city’s public transportation system.

“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,” he wrote.

Schall said transportation is a particularly big challenge in Atlanta, where only 18 percent of jobs are accessible by public transit for those who live in the greater metropolitan area.

It’s more than just a regional trend. Uber recently helped produce a study arguing that the ride service benefits low-income consumers by providing service in areas that regular taxis tend to avoid.