Need a ride? Some may think Uber drivers have the easiest job in the world, but it’s far more complicated beneath the surface. Getting in a car with a stranger has always been engraved in our minds as a huge ‘no-no,’ but Uber drivers put themselves in a vulnerable position by letting complete strangers in their vehicles and driving them to sometimes unknown destinations. Here, these Uber drivers share stories of nightmare passengers they had no choice but to kick out for not just their sanity but their safety.
All stories have been edited for clarity.
Table of contents
Late For Something…
“I’ve been an Uber driver for a while.
One time I got a ride request for an Uber pool from someone named ‘Liz’. Once I got to Liz’s location, she got in the car and asked me the one question I hate being asked when passengers use Uber pool:
‘Do you think we’ll get there on time?’
I had to explain to Liz that because she picked Uber pool, I had to pick up passengers along the the way before we reached her destination. I also told her, ‘If you want, I can cancel this ride without a cancellation fee so you can get an Uber X instead.’
Liz shrugged and responded with, ‘Oh, no. It’s fine because you’re here now.’
Since I told her the rules about how Uber pool worked, I thought Liz would be understanding that I had to pick up all the passengers. Right?
Nope!
Right after I picked up two more passengers, Liz started throwing the craziest hissy fit I’ve ever seen anyone do in my life. She was throwing a temper tantrum by slamming her fists on the seat and stomping her feet. Even a five-year-old would have been mortified by her absurd behavior.
As Liz was losing her mind in the backseat, she kept calling me ‘inconsiderate’ because I was making her late. I replied, ‘You selected Uber pool so it’s not my problem, ma’am.’
The kicker was the reason why she was upset for running late. You see, Liz was on her way to meet her ‘dealer.’
Yeah, this woman had priorities!
At this point, the other two passengers were really uncomfortable. One of them was nice enough to give Liz some water and snacks to try to calm her down. Unfortunately, Liz was still screaming at the top of her lungs in the confined space of the vehicle.
What made me snap was what Liz called her connection on the phone and said, ‘I’m sorry I’m running late. This Uber driver is stupid and fat!’
‘Oka,y that’s it!’ I pulled the car over. ‘You’ll probably get there faster walking. Have a nice day!’
Liz looked at me in utter disbelief before rolling her eyes. ‘Fine, whatever!’ Liz then got out of the car and walked away still talking on the phone.
She was the first and only person I ever kicked out of Uber.”
Shotgun!
“One Friday night I got a request for pickup for a twenty minute ride. Once I got to the address I realized it was actually a bar. Now the name on the pickup said ‘Courtney’, but once I notified her I was outside, Courtney actually came out with a very drunk guy.
Courtney then opened the back door and the plastered guy started on a tirade about sitting up front. His words were so slurred it was hard to understand anything. I told him both parties had to sit in the back. No exceptions.
Courtney nodded at me and had a very apologetic look in her eyes before she turned to the drunk guy and told him to get in the back. He refused once again and continued to raise his voice.
As I sat quietly observing the situation, it turned out Courtney was just a bartender and the obnoxious drunk was a customer that she was trying to make sure got home safe. I could only assume he was a regular because Courtney was being way too patient with the guy. She had boxed and bagged food for him and even put his key in the bag. Instead of accepting the ride with kindness, the drunk continued causing a scene because he felt like he was too good to sit in the backseat.
The guy opened my front door and attempted to sit down. At that point, I had enough and yelled back at him, ‘NO! You either sit in the backseat or I cancel the order!’
‘Okay, okay,’ the drunk guy muttered but then he proceeded to grab my hoodie off the front passenger seat and asked where he could put it so he could sit down.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to listen, I then told him the ride was canceled and he would have to schedule a ride with a different driver.
‘No, no!’ The drunk man was still slurring. ‘I’ll get in the back, man.’
‘GET OUT! WE’RE DONE!’ I said sternly.
The drunk man continued to apologize over and over, completely ignoring my commands to leave the vehicle. The man even closed my front passenger door, then proceeded to open the back door and crawled in anyway. I had to get out of my car and grab the man by the legs to haul him out of my car.
Once he was finally out of the vehicle, the man grabbed the door handle and refused to let go until he got his way. I was so fed up with him I forcibly grabbed his wrist, looked him dead in his bloodshot eyes and said, ‘Straight up. You let go of my car right now, or I will break your wrist in two.’
Suddenly, fear washed over the man’s face. He let go of the car and waddled away muttering to himself.
There was no way in hell I was going to have that guy in my car for twenty min after the stunt he pulled.”
Backseat Fight Club
“One time I pulled up to pick up my passenger outside of a club downtown. Five people started to climb in, which was fine, but Tesla cars only seated four passengers.
I had to tell them, ‘Only four seatbelts are available. Therefore, I can only take four bodies max.’ I then added, ‘Either call an XL Uber, or call another ride to pick up the rest of your party.’
Now the party was made up of three women and two guys. After debating for a while, the guys sent the women with me while they called for another ride for themselves.
Apparently, one of the three women was super drunk. All of them were all arguing over some drama that happened at the club. It quickly escalated to the point that the drunk girl started throwing hands in the backseat at her friend while the other two jumped on her.
The drunk girl then started screaming at the top of her lungs to be let out of the vehicle before she started to violently yank the back door open.
Since my vehicle is a Tesla, it’s not all that obvious how to open the door.
Seeing that the women were a danger to themselves, I stopped the car, got out, opened the door, and told them all to get out before I called the cops.
The look on everyone’s face said it all. Somehow, my actions made me the jerk in this situation. I told the other passenger to blame her friend. I did not want my car damaged in some stupid drunken fight in the back seat.
Some people’s kids, I swear.”
Follow Instructions!
“One morning I got a ping for a rider. I accepted it and didn’t really look at the star rating because I was already in the middle of a ride.
Once I dropped off the passenger, I went back to the one I blindly accepted and saw the rider had a 3.67 rating. I cringed at the sight, but quickly reasoned with myself that the ride was only four minutes. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and saw myself as a possible opportunity for the passenger to redeem themself.
So I got to the address on time and parked in front of a building. I looked at the request and say in the notes that the passenger wanted me to call once I was outside. I did exactly as told but the call went straight to voicemail. There wasn’t much else I could do, so I waited.
About five minutes later, a disheveled woman came out of the building. Her look said it all.
With her hands on her hips, she shouted, ‘YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CALL THE NUMBER!’
‘I did, ma’am,’ I said evenly. ‘The voicemail was full.’
The woman’s attitude was horrible. She balled her hands into fists and screamed at the top of her lungs. ‘No, it’s not. I saw you sitting out here but you didn’t call.’
I paused for a moment then said, ‘If you saw me out here why didn’t you come out?’
‘That’s because you WERE SUPPOSED TO CALL!’ I couldn’t believe the entitlement of the woman.
‘Ma’am, you didn’t answer.’ I beginning to lose my patience. ‘What else was I supposed to do? Your voicemail box was full.’
‘Next time, follow directions!’
The woman, still visibly upset and tried to open the door. I had locked it on purpose.
‘Oh the door is locked?’ I asked cheerfully. ‘Here, let me get it for you.’
The woman huffed and puffed but reluctantly took a step back.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I sped off. I then canceled the ride and collected the fee.
That was the first ride I’ve ever canceled.”
“I Don’t Even Know Where I Am!”
“One passenger removal story I will never forget involved this older lady I picked up who on her way to work at an assisted living facility. The ride was ordered for her by one of her co-workers.
Everything started off fine.
The trip was roughly eight miles, but about halfway through the trip she yelled, ‘This is the wrong way. That road is closed!’
Any time a passenger tried correcting my route, I let them know I’m wasn’t from the area, so if they had any tips on a faster route please let me know.
If no suggestions were given, I followed the GPS. I gave her my line and the woman snapped, ‘I think you’re supposed to turn HERE!’ She pointed to a residential area that if I had to guess was five miles from the destination.
I drove around a random neighborhood for about five mins before the agitated woman started telling me, ‘I don’t know where I am!’
I agreed with her then remind her that per the GPS we were still pretty far from her destination. The woman then demanded I stop the car and started looking at our surroundings.
Politely, I said, ‘Ma’am. If we just follow the GPS I’m sure it will get us there.’
The woman then yelled back, ‘THE ROAD IS CLOSED!’
I calmly assured her it was the 21st century and most GPS systems, especially Waze, account for road closures and will provide us with a detour. The woman then balked at that remark and requested I take another lap around the residential area we were in.
The woman then started accusing me of not knowing what I was doing. I got fed up and let her know I was going to drive toward the address provided, which made recoil in her seat.
‘Excuse me, but I’m paying you!’
I said, ‘Actually, you don’t have to pay me anymore. I’m taking you to a gas station and you can get another Uber.’
The woman was blown away and kept saying, ‘What if I was handicapped? What if I get mugged?’
I calmly said, ‘You aren’t handicapped,’ before letting her out at a very nice gas station and speeding off.”
