New Mexico sees shortage of Uber, Lyft drivers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Many people are getting ready for Thanksgiving Thursday by celebrating Wednesday night, maybe even tossing a few back.

New Mexicans have lost too many people, especially lately, to drunk driving crashes.

Calling a ride-share company is a safe option, but you may need to pack your patience if you go that route. Like many other worker shortages, there appears to more demand for those drivers than supply in New Mexico.

KOB 4 took a couple rides earlier Wednesday afternoon and caught up with some local drivers who said they are super busy. But if you give it a little time, someone will get to you.

According to CNBC in early July, Uber and Lyft drivers were down 40%. So they’ve started investing in bonuses and base rate changes to bring drivers back.

High gas prices are another new reason other drivers believe people could be seeing fewer ride-share drivers at a time when we really need them.

Uber is providing codes in Bernalillo County and throughout the state to encourage people to use the service after a night of drinking this holiday week.

For Bernalillo County, the discount code is THANKS2021. For the rest of the state, it’s ENDWI2021.

Those codes are good for at least ten dollars off one ride, but there is limited availability.

“We’re actually recommending folks consider a rental car over a ride-share like Uber and Lyft, simply because there’s such a shortage of ride-share drivers that folks are having to wait for extended periods of time for their ride-share drivers to arrive,” said Stephanie Kitts, Sunport public information officer.