Residents and visitors now have a new option for getting around in Washington and the surrounding area.

Christopher Fazio, a full time driver for the Uber and Lyft ridesharing services, says he usually stays on call about 18 hours a day, seven days a week, and he’s been operating in Beaufort County for about a month now.

“I hit it hard,” Fazio said. “I hustle at it. There are people out there that are part-timers, cherry-pickers I call them, and they go out there and make $20, $30 extra per night. That’s all fine for them, but I hit it as hard as I can every day.”

Fazio started driving for the ride-sharing services in Moore County, working from there all the way up to the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill area. Once he realized the potential to make good money offering the service, he decided to make ridesharing a full-time job. In doing so, he says every day different.

“If you do this full time, like I do, you’ve got to be prepared every single day, because you never know where you’re going to end up,” Fazio said. “By the end of the day I could be in Charlotte. I’ve ended up in Tennessee, West Virginia, Washington D.C., South Carolina.”

For those unfamiliar with them, both Uber and Lyft offers services by way of smartphone apps. Opening the apps reveals a map of one’s surrounding area, along with the exact location of cars available for hire. Then, it’s as simple as typing in your destination to let the driver who picks you up know where you want to go. If you use the app in Beaufort County, Fazio’s car is going to be the one to show up, provided he’s in the area.

“That’s one of the drawbacks of being the only Uber/Lfyt driver in the area,” Fazio said. “There are a lot of people here that need medical attention that local offices don’t offer, and once I run to Greenville, I usually end up staying in Greenville the rest of the day. But as business has been picking up, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, I come back here for Friday and Saturday nights.”

At first, because the ridesharing services were previously unavailable in the area, Fazio said the business was basically zero. But after handing out his cards at a variety of places, he says the word is starting to get out.

“My ride count has gone from zero to probably 12 to 14 a day,” Fazio said. “… I try to make myself available about 18 hours per day. My phones are usually on about 6 a.m., and I usually shut down around midnight.”

For more information on Uber, visit www.uber.com. To learn more about Lyft, visit www.lyft.com.