A front row seat the the humanity that passes through the back seat.
As I start to grow this site, I wanted to create a part of this site where I could share some insights that I picked up from riders and the conversations that I have with them. If there is anything I have learned from a front row seat to the human condition it is this, people are pretty amazing and often times will surprise you if you ask a few questions. I head someone say one time "you have two ears and one mouth, you should use them proportionally".
There are many, many ways a driver can irritate riders. I always hear complaints from my friend and family about drivers that they encounter. To me the bar has always seemed pretty low are far as a pleasant experience. I say it all the time. “I am in the A to B business”. When I’m a rider myself, I just want a ride that is non-intrusive That I can have a minute to think and maybe sort out the details that my destination may require. I am not against chatting with a driver who has something to actually say. Being a driver and having the point of view I have, I have been aghast at some of the rides I have had over the years.
For instance, My daughter and I were In California to go to Disneyland. This is a once or twice a year pilgrimage for us. We usually take an Uber to or from the hotel. One morning we were outside waiting from our driver to arrive. I always try to be at curbside when the car arrives. I have a whole rant about this and why it’s the bare minimum a rider can do for their driver. In any case, we were there excited to get our first day of Disneyland started. The car pulls up and in the front seat is a fella who can only be described as if Charles Bukowski suddenly was reincarnated as a Uber driver. Bulbus alcoholic nose, totally unkempt hair and clothes and glossy eyes that were a tell tail sign of either heavy alcohol use ort pills or both. He pulls up and the car is having a hard time staying running as it idles. He has one arm hanging out of the drivers window and he half moans and half barks at us “you guys going to lego land?”….i was confused and like I usually do I say “you’re Jim right”….He looks blankly at me and says “Legoland is a lot of fun”…again, I say “hey, are you our driver Jim?”…again, no response just some weird mumblings about Legoland. Finally I am losing my cool. We are in a bit of a hurry because we want to make rope drop at the park and this guys is going on and on about “legoland”…what the actual fuck is this guy’s issue. I say “are you Jim or not, we are going to Diseneyland”…he finally relents and says “yeah, yeah, I’m Jim don’t report me ok?”…I shake my head and we climb into the back of the car. “Jim” goes on and on about Legoland and how there is no need to send a report to Uber. “You send the report and I keep driving to Legoland he says. I am truly totally confused at this point. Finally we arrive at the park and make our way out of the car and away as far and as fast from Jim as we can.
There are a ton of misfits that get washed into the business of A to B. People like Jim who by all accounts could ever hold down a job that would require him to show up on time or be presentable. Driving is sort of like living on the island of misfit toys. The exact reason I drive is the reason Jim is there. You have no boss or requirements bout who you are and how you should act. The whole system is built on the fact that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Jim will drive until he gets enough complaints that Uber finally decides that Jim is a liability. Jim will then mostly likely end up on LYFT and then who knows. The truth is, the A to B business has always attracted misfits. There is something liberating and freeing about sliding into your own front seat, at whatever time you want, driving where you want, stopping when you want. Freedom of the open road and all that. But for some like Jim, the A to B business is the ONLY option. The only place he can make it without any expectations to get hired. I wonder sometimes what the Jims of Uber do when they bounce out from too many complaints or maybe crash their car while drunk.
There are lots of drivers who are not a bad as Jim but make the ride just sort of…I don’t know…irritating. How about Kelley, the moment I get in he informs me that he “is a talker”…and proceeds to talk non-stop through a rollercoaster of topics without any sort of input from me. My 10 minute ride to the airport felt like a year. Some say Kelley is still talking to this day!
My advice for drivers is this, Some of you all just need to shut the fuck up a bit. What I gather both from my own experience as a driver and as a rider, the A to B business can be a lonely one. Some drivers are lonely, sad people and driving is the only human connection that they get in their lives.