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I was pleased when I checked my Uber rating and saw that I was sitting pretty at a 4.88. While 4.88 isn’t the highest Uber rating I’ve heard, it’s high enough that drivers don’t shy away from me but low enough that it still says, “Yeah, I’m here to party.”
Getting a good rapport going with your driver is important to the entire experience, especially when you’re partaking in a solo journey. Early on in the ride, you know that your driver can go one of three ways — silent, talking just enough to break the ice, or over-talking to the point where you can’t wait for your ride to end.
Uber drivers do The Lord’s work. They sacrifice their nights out to ensure that you, and your friends, get home safely after drinking enough alcohol to kill a small deer. I’m not sure why a small deer was the example I went with there, but that’s just what we’re going with. What’s more impressive about these drivers, though, is that they’re doing it in their own vehicle that they also use for personal use on a day-to-day basis. This rang true to me even more when a recent driver asked me outright to sit in the front seat with him because “it made [him] more comfortable.”
I was somewhat shocked. “The front seat?” I wondered while opening the door hesitantly. “Okay, I guess.”
But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. After all, I’m a passenger in his Ford Fusion. His car, his rules. Perhaps he could see it in my eyes that I had a few beers beforehand, and maybe he feared that I’d boot all over his back seat. Or, you know, maybe he just did actually feel more comfortable with me sitting next to him rather than behind him. Either way, I couldn’t blame him for the simple request. Five stars later, I was off.
But as I got more and more rides, I started to change my own behavior. I found myself going for the front seat more than not, especially when the night was later and I had more and more to drink. To me, it made sense. I’ve been very upfront about the fact that I am likely to fall asleep after midnight in the back seat of a ride because 1.) I’m tired, and 2.) The late night shuffling of the road acted as a lullaby. I realized that sitting in the front seat not only helped keep me more aware visually, but it engaged me more with the driver thus completely eliminating the possibility of falling asleep altogether.
Now? Well, I have an admission to make — I’m a front seat Uber passenger. I enjoy it. I like the bond it creates between me and the guy nice enough to be my designated driver. I feel as though he’s less of an employee to me and more of just a normal human being doing me a favor out the goodness of his heart. Sure, the “goodness of his heart” costs about $8.98 from my house to downtown, but still.
What I wasn’t expecting during my trials and tribulations of riding in the front seat was the fallout I’d get from my friends. “Are you serious?” they’d ask. “The front fucking seat?” Sure, it makes sense to ride in the front seat rather than cram in like sardines with two other people. But alone? Alone?! It’s largely considered to be “psychotic” behavior, for lack of a better word.
Which is why I have to ask. Is riding in the front seat of an Uber during a solo trip completely normal, or completely psychotic?
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Will
Will (Twitter / Instagram) is the host of The Sunday Scaries Podcast.
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100% normal. I’d feel awkward as shit sitting in the back seat while some single dad in a 2013 Dodge Dart tries talking to me over his shoulder.
I can’t wait for when cars can drive themselves so that while I’m at work, my car can drive around and pick people up/drop them off to make extra money as opposed to having it sit there in some shitty parking garage all day
The self driving cars will not be owned at the individual scale, however major corporations will own fleets that will handle all of this. Only contributing to less jobs for folks.
There’s a start up company in Boston creating an SDK for 2012 and new models that can convert your car into a self driving one
I, too, listen to Joe Rogan. What episode was this?
If you really want to freak the driver out, sit in the back seat directly behind the driver’s seat. Guarantee they have a mini freakout.
Here’s the rule: 1 Person – Sit up front
2 People – Sit in the back
3+ People – Fight to the death for the front seat because more leg room and aux cord privileges
I had a driver REQUEST that I sit up front and sure enough she was a complete psycho. Still rated her 5 stars out of fear.
As a former uber driver, sitting in the front is tight. It makes everything more comfortable.
My fiance gets a bit car sick if she rides in the back, especially for a long period of time. So, she always opts for riding shotgun.
During a recent solo trip to San Franscisco, I decided to really utilize the trip as an opportunity to mature from the person friends once described as a girl who “wouldn’t even go to the bathroom alone” by sitting in the front seat of my airport Uber. I stood outside the airport and mentally hyped myself up as the car approached the curb. I climb in the front seat and start off with an enthusiastic “hello how is your day going!?!?” only to be met with a series of grunts and nods. Turns out homeboy didn’t speak a lick of English and we rode in awkward silence for 30 minutes while I looked at the window. 0/10 would not do again.
Awkward, and the perfect example why its best to sit in the back. Sometimes I am not in the mood to talk to the driver, sometimes I am. The same goes for the driver, sometimes he doesn’t want to be chatty cathy, sometimes he does. Sitting in the back eliminates all of the potential awkwardness of having to be forced into a convo with the driver.
I always sit up front but I also let them know its because I’m tall and my head hits the back windshield… didn’t realized it bothered some drivers.
I had a mini panic attack the first time I uber’ed alone and was frantically googling whether to sit up front or not in the minutes before he arrived. I didn’t get any solid answers, so I sat up front anyway. I’m a dedicated front seat sitter now.