If you are a college student, Uber drivers become your best buddies. They take you to the library when you don’t want to walk in the dark by yourself. They shuttle you from party to party allowing you to have no idea how much you are spending (when the rates go up you’re pretty much not eating for the next week). They will take you anywhere you need to go and act as your personal driver, a lot of them carry water bottles, snacks and candy just to make sure you’re drive is enjoyable (and to make sure they get those 5 stars). Whether or not you are an avid Uber user or if you just go along for the ride with your friends we have all encountered these drivers at least once in our lives:
“I’m not a regular Uber driver…I’m a cool Uber driver”
We have all gotten into an Uber with premonitions wondering if they will let us use the aux cord or whether or not they will let us squeeze in a few extra friends and hope they are on the more lenient side. There is always that old Uber driver who you expect to be very strict and a stickler for the rules…most of the time it ends up being the complete opposite. This Uber driver lets you pack in as many friends as you want, always has a snack or beverage of some sort and just wants to chat and be your friend. Usually, it seems like they are trying to hard but you are just happy they are letting you play Fetty Wap while twelve of your closest friends are hanging out of the trunk trying to get to the next tailgate. We all owe a big thank you to these Uber drivers for being the homie and letting us bend the rules.
The "eccentric" Uber driver
You might be thinking…wait a minute almost all of my Uber drivers have been pretty eccentric. Yes we all have had a number of oddballs pick us up but eccentric isn’t always a bad thing. Somehow I always end up learning very in depth details about my Uber drivers and usually get their entire life story in the time of a four-block drive. I have had drivers anywhere from an ex-FBI agent, a Wall Street stock broker gone broke, a pregnant woman trying to work off of her feet, ex-military citizens trying to integrate themselves back into the regular work grind, to a man who’s life dream is to travel for a living. All of my Uber drivers have been very unique and seem to have a different reason for driving for Uber and a different reason for how they ended up where they are today. It can really put things into perspective when you realize how easily people can gain and lose things in life. A surprising amount of Uber drivers I have had are from out of the country or have come a very long way to get to where they are today as my Uber driver taking me to McDonalds at 3 a.m. You never know who might be picking you up! Uber drivers are some of the most interesting characters I have ever met.
The party Uber
This Uber driver that knows where all the parties are at and knows exactly how to get there. This driver has become good buddies with enough people to have the inside scoop and usually has some sketchy thermoses full of Ciroc and fireball that have been in the car for lord knows how long. There is always some weird EDM bumping in this Uber and maybe even some makeshift led lights to get the party started. This Uber driver is trying desperately to live vicariously through the young passengers they pick up and want to go back to college more than anything (even though they are usually old enough to have gone back to college 20 different times). You always leave these rides questioning if that driver was really chill or you just pity them too much to realize how creepy they really are.
The Local
This driver is usually pretty great because they always know how to get where you’re going fast without having to type everything into their GPS system and take the longest rout possible. They also usually give you pretty great tips on where to eat or go out that night. They always bring the best snacks from their house and know the ins and outs of the city.
No matter who picks you up it is usually a pretty interesting ride even if it is just for a few blocks. We all know we couldn’t live without Uber and easily forget what it was like to have to find a designated driver for everything or fill up the gas tank every other week. Some are pretty cool while others can be kind of sketchy or just trying to relive the glory days, but at the end of the day they are some of the most interesting people you will talk to that day.
