I am asked on a regular basis what are the types of people I give rides to; have I given rides to any trouble makers, has anyone thrown up in my car or have I rejected any rides because I felt my safety was at risk.
All very valid questions!
Well to date I can honestly say I have experienced all of those except for one – touch wood.
Trouble Makers – well not in the true sense of the word however there has certainly been the ‘The Silent’ type, ‘The Chatterbox’, the ‘Look at Me’, several cases of ‘I feel sick…..please stop’, ‘Miss Flirtatious’, several ‘Snorers’ and even done a few ‘Uber Ride of Shame’.
The only time I felt uneasy was when I picked up the Scary Old Lady, the one I wrote about previously in this Blog, although there have been times when the pick up address has taken me to some questionable locations especially at night. Generally that happens when the Rider uses the ‘Drop the Pin’ function in the app as its a general location based on the GPS that’s not an exact science yet.
I’ve ended up trying to pick people up in the middle of shopping centre car parks, in the middle of Coles, down a boat ramp, around various council parks and public areas and surprisingly people requesting rides in areas where we simply cannot stop or get access to.
These areas, like dedicated bikeways, one ways streets that are long with no stopping or turning allowed, heaven forbid I even had one misguided chap book a ride whilst standing on a traffic island – he then proceeded to walk across the four lane road to the other side and then walked up the road for a few meters until he arrived at a bus shelter where he could sit down…..he didn’t think of the fact I had accepted the job for the original location!
It would have been a better option if he had delayed booking a Uber until he got to his actual pickup location as I had to drive about 400m away before I could turn around and come back to pick him up…..his first words to me were along the lines why did I pass him before I turned around to pick him up?
The Silent Type – had a few of those, both male and female. It never cease to amaze me how people can go out into public, request a ride in a strangers car and yet when they get in and you greet them you are lucky if you get a response at all.
In a couple of my cases they sat in the back seat, looked down at their mobile for the entire trip or simply looked out the window. I tried to start some general conversation but it’s hard to engage with someone who simply sits there and gives you a grunt or a ho hum response. I even had one lady say to me she doesn’t talk to strangers and is not interested in talking to me as all she wants from me is to get her to her destination as quickly and cheaply as possible! So there!!
The chatterbox – Yes I’ve had a few of these. Boy some people can talk…and breath at the same time. All I could do was nod as I simply could not get a word in any which way.
Look at Me – Well I seem to remember those people, yes both men and women, were really into themselves and constantly seeking positive enforcement from me about their outfit, hair, looks etc for the places they were going.
Miss Flirtatious – self explanatory here. A few have tried the old flirting trick for some reason. I am not sure what is was going to get them.
Snorers – Yes there has been some heavy sleepers.
Grumpy People – Why do people need to go through life in a state of grumpiness rather than just enjoying the trip.