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Uber Drivers Reveal Their Wildest Passenger Horror Stories

Cameron Eittreim April 15, 2021

Ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft have completely changed the way people commute. They took the middleman out of the old-fashioned taxi cab format for a substantial discount. Career Uber drivers do a lot of driving, which means there’s a good deal of strange stories to tell. You’ve probably watched the news and seen these horror stories all over the media.

Rideshare drivers put up with some serious crap, so naturally, it can be entertaining to read about these stories. Let’s take a look at some of the wildest stories that Uber and Lyft drivers (and some cabbies) have been through.

20: Frozen Puke

Ridesharing is popular because it’s a safe alternative to driving after drinking. IDontDrive62 talked about one intoxicated night that was a bit too much to handle. “Some friends and I Ubered back later night after a party. Being intoxicated AF, my friends sitting next to me started to heave, so I, work my quick thinking, opened the window pushed him to puke outside, in the freezing February air. He did his duty and we were all thankful that he decided to puke outside.

“Eventually, we arrive by my house and get out. I look on the outside of the car and the puke had FROZEN all along the outside of the car by the window. The side of the car had puke on it. We spent an hour helping the poor Uber driver clean it, by throwing hot water from inside the house and someone quickly scrubbing.”

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19: An Odd Explanation

Uber and Lyft drivers aren’t the only transportation workers who have great stories to tell. Turtle68 shared his story of being a cabbie in a big city. “I don’t drive for either of those companies but I had a pretty bizarre fare once. I picked up a guy and a girl midday Saturday for a short ride (a couple of km). The girl seemed out of or her mind and was wearing somewhat revealing clothing, so it was pretty clear they’d been partying the night before.

“While driving I picked up their conversation which they were not attempting to hide. It was pretty clear that the guy had a girlfriend who was not the girl in the car and that he had just hooked up with this girl. They were currently heading to his girlfriend to explain what had happened. To be clear, he is bringing the girl he was unfaithful with along to explain to his girlfriend.”

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18: Turtle Power

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is huge and originated in New York City. One night, needlenose87 had an encounter with a real member of the clan. “Well, there was the guy who proceeded to get butt naked in my backseat (while pissing drunk) and change into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume… It was Michaelangelo, for the record.” Ok, maybe not a real ninja turtle but close.

In a large city like New York, it’s not uncommon to come across some interesting characters. This just happened to be the case on the night in question. Someone switching costumes in the back of an Uber is certainly not something drivers usually see every day.

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17: Kissing Cousins

We all hear about the “kissing” cousins, but for one driver, it happened. Chevyman87 detailed an interesting night where two cousins had too much to drink. “Not an Uber/Lyft driver, but I did drive for a taxi company. I had a fare where two drunk people were making out in the back of my cab. This isn’t unusual on its own, happens quite often, just gotta stop them before s* gets out of hand.

“Well, one of them decides to stop making out and says to me” Don’t tell anyone, okay?”. Curious, I ask why he responds “we are cousins and we don’t want our family to find out”…then they went back to making out again. I didn’t once think they could have possibly been cousins, never saw either people before or after. Could have just kept his mouth shut and I’d never have known, Why would you disclose that information to a stranger?”

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16: The Singer

Nightlife is the central theme for most Uber drivers and when they make the most money. CatDoja20029 has a father who is an Uber driver with some interesting stories. “So my dad is an uber driver and he says that girls my age (I’m in my early twenties) will drunkenly try to make him go home with them all the time.

“One time three girls drunkenly were singing to Taylor swift and they made my dad record them singing the song and then they made him sing some of the lyrics. He showed me the clip of them singing and him singing later it was hysterical. Then they invited him to go to the next bar with them but he had to keep working.”

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15: Too Much Fragrance

Buzzfeed user erikadisney told a tale about too much fragrance in her car. “I once had a passenger immediately ask me if I used perfume when they got into my car. I said no, but I had an air freshener that I’d be happy to put away if it bothered them. The passenger made me sit with the windows down to ‘air out the car’ for 20 minutes.

“They then proceeded to apply copious amounts of essential oils all over themselves to calm them from the smell. The essential oil smell was far stronger, gave me a headache, and lingered in my car for two days.” This was definitely an awkward experience for the Uber driver.

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14: A Messy Night

Drunken benders are all too common for Uber drivers, but this night was over the top. Buzzfeed user Eneryspy55 told the story. “We’re in Children of the Corn territory, and I’m legit getting nervous. We turn down this back road, and I hear her making sounds, thinking she wants to talk. NOPE. She vomits all over my cloth seats in the back while she’s asleep and wakes herself up crying. It was my first night driving. Driver not prepared no phone charger and only a half tank of gas.

“Around 4 a.m., I decided to do one more ride. At the time, when you accepted a ride, it didn’t tell you how far away it was or the destination until after you accepted. So I get a request and accept it. Turns out, it was around 20 miles north of where I lived. I got there, and a guy had requested it for his drunk lady friend whose house was another 45 minutes north. But, I decided to take the girl home, and she fell asleep 10 minutes into the drive.”

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13: A Threatening Ride

Although Lyft does a great job of moderating the service, every once in a while you get a straggler. Buzzfeed user Soapsuds told their story. “I got to the drop-off address, and he said it wasn’t where he lived. He couldn’t communicate an address because he was so drunk. He told me to turn on certain streets, but we were going in circles. We approached a liquor store, and he told me to stop so he could go in. He stayed in the car for five minutes with his hand in his pocket and told me I was going to be a good boy and wait for him.

“Then he threatened me and left his food in the car. This guy was super drunk, and a restaurant manager had called a Lyft for him because they had kicked him out (never do this). The guy sat in the front seat, and once we started driving, he started eating his messy leftovers. I told him to hold off until I dropped him off, and he yelled at me and told me to f*** off. He was big and was very aggressive. As soon as he walked inside that store, I sped the f*** out of there. Keep in mind, this was on the restaurant manager’s Lyft account, and I had no idea who this guy was.”

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12: The Sausage Maker

The thing about being a taxi or rideshare driver is that you hear a lot of strange stories. Buzzfeed user napmaster77 told it best. “I had one incredibly drunk guy tell me — on the way to the strip club — about how he’s retiring super early and all he’s gonna do is make and sell the sausage. He’s so excited, telling me about all the tools and meats he has. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s great! Good for you.’

“After about a minute of silence, he says in the most serious voice, ‘You should never trust someone who knows how to make sausage, you might disappear.’ My heart sank because I was sure that I was about to be made into a sausage. LUCKILY, he did not make me into a sausage, he tipped me $100 in cash for the 20-minute drive to the tiddy shack.”

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11: The Kidnapper

Interesting, odd stories are a dime a dozen for Uber and Lyft drivers. Buzzfeed user RedCorvette222 told an odd tale about his dad being accused by a rider. “Pre-COVID, my dad would drive for Uber late at night. One night, he picks up a drunk girl, but it just seems like a normal ride. After a while, she calmly asks him to pull over. He’s thinking she’s going to puke, so he does. Suddenly, she gets out and starts running down the street screaming that someone is trying to kidnap her! “he calls the cops, and my dad does, as well, to explain the situation and that he was just her Uber driver.

“The cops find her a few streets down and calm her down. Afterward, they ask him if he still wants to take her home to which he says no. ADVERTISEMENT Well, the next night, he picks up a few ladies going to a bar and they ask him to tell them wild stories. So he goes, ‘Well, here’s one that happened yesterday,’ and tells them everything. The girls start laughing and go, ‘We just heard this story from our friend! She was the girl!’ She was quite embarrassed the next day.”

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10: Trapped Behind A Gate

It’s never fun losing a key to a gate because getting out of it can be impossible. Reddit user JamesD1973 told a story of going through just that. “I get a request to go to a swanky apartment complex, show up to the pin, and see no one there. Then, I get a call from an unknown number. I answer and hear these two girls bawling. They’re trapped in the parking garage and can’t get out because it’s enclosed by a 12-foot-tall gate.

“You need a code to open it, but the guy they were hanging with wouldn’t give it to them. I get out of my car, and they are legit reaching for me through the gate, crying for me to help them. I realized that there was an outside part of the garage that was maybe six feet tall, so I told them to climb it and I would catch them. Mind you, I’m a girl too, but I played basketball in college and was still pretty fit. So they climbed the wall and jumped. I caught them both and took them home lmao.”

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9: The Womanizer

Being a female Uber can be a traumatizing experience. Reddit user Cheap9date78 told the story of her experience. “Once a man in his forties got in my car and immediately made a disgusted face. I asked him if everything was okay. He told me to get him another Uber because I was a woman, and he didn’t trust me to not get in a car accident. I’d been driving for over six years without any marks on my license. Needless to say, I didn’t give him that ride.”

The rider in question had a problem with female drivers. Sadly, it happens all too often to female drivers in this line of work. Uber rates their riders after each fare and we can assume this rider got a zero-star review.

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8: The Accidental Cyclist

The need for Uber is not just confined to late-night party-goers, and sometimes an Uber can be a necessity after an accident. Roadgoer124 told the story of his experience at the sight of a car accident. “I was having trouble getting to the pick-up destination because of a car accident. As I got closer, I learned that the pick-up location was the accident. The rider came stumbling to my car and stated that he had just been hit by a car while riding his bike. The drop-off destination was the hospital. Only in America do we take Ubers instead of ambulances to the hospital.”

The cyclist in question was wise to call an Uber to get him away from the scene of the accident. With the sheer amount of traveling that an Uber driver does in a single day, it’s no wonder that Roadgoer124 would bump into this kind of an event.

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7: A Lingering Hangover

It would appear that ridesharing and drinking go hand-in-hand and that’s not necessarily the worst thing. Buzzfeed user bathshebawilliams told an interesting story about an uneventful night on an Uber shift. “I picked up a passenger at noon who was still drunk from the night before. Uneventful ride — but as soon as we stopped at his drop off, he vomited all over the backseat and floor of my brand new Camry.

“He was meeting a friend for cocktails before a flight. Guy talked the whole ride about how he makes six figures and was starting a new position overseas. Rated me three stars and didn’t tip.” What could have been a routine ride for the Uber driver turned into a messy situation.

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6: Thoughtful Tipping

Tipping is a major perk to being an Uber driver, but the passengers don’t always remember to actually tip. Buzzfeed user jamesc420ce9ec1 told the story of a passenger who showed his gratitude differently. “And I drove for Lyft and picked up a guy getting off work. A liquor store was across the street from his job, so he asked me to stop there first. He goes in, then comes back, and I take him to his apartment. He reaches in his bag from the liquor store and hands me a bottle of Glenlivet.

“‘Sorry, but I forgot to tip you on the app. Here ya go!’ He became a regular after that, but he never tipped me with liquids ever again.” Needless to say, this was a great perk for a short ride if you fancy the finer things in life (off the job, of course).

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5: Avoiding The Babysitter

Sometimes a customer just wants to have a good time. Buzzfeed user redragtop09 told the story of a fun night with two riders. “I used to drive Uber at fort Myers beach. Picked up 4 drunk as a skunk middle-aged people and crammed them into my tiny car. Was about to pull into their neighborhood (nice, gated, on the water) and the one guy was like, “I need you to follow that car!” And I’m like “whatever, let’s see how this plays out.

“So we start following this random SUV and I’m like “who is this guy?” And they’re like “we don’t know, but we have 20 minutes of babysitter left and we aren’t wasting it”. I reminded them they were on a triple rate surcharge and they didn’t care. Eventually, the car pulled over and everyone shouts at me “GO GO GO!!” And we sped off into the night. $100 ride, $20 tip, 5-star review. 100% worth it. Entertaining drunk, otherwise responsible people is a blast.”

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4: Strip Club Night

Late-night Uber driving is a fun but oftentimes stressful experience. Buzzfeed user chatterthang told the story of an odd night. “Picked a guy up from a strip club around 5 pm. I had been there for a while and was talkative drunk. The guy started talking to a friend on his phone and kept saying he couldn’t go into detail because he had a lady driver. He told me he was going home and then taking his daughter out to a basketball game because there was an after-game concert she was very excited about.

“Little did he know (or I know because I was just following the GPS). Dudes in a rumpled suit smell like a strip club and he is not sober. The guy got a resolved look, handed me a few singles, said thanks for the ride boo, and just hitched up his pants like a man embracing his sh***y situation.”

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3: Scrapbooking Driver

We’ve told the stories of Uber drivers who had a unique experience, but what about the rider’s point of view? Reddit user wheatleybun told the story of a scrapbooking Uber driver. “Not a driver.. but was recently a passenger in an Uber. It was a Monday morning, so of course, I was a little down and not in the mood to talk too much. The driver starts going on about how beautiful the weather is and starts explaining a good day starts with being positive.

“She then asks if I would like to see her book. I was a little confused, but I said sure. She starts explaining that she carries this scrapbook with index cards and markers for all of her riders. She said she usually asks them to write some sort of positive message or just tells them they can simply write whatever they want.”

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2: The Fun Beverage Guy

Beverage salesmen go from state to state to sell and license different drinks. Uber driver Mission_Ride312 told the story of meeting a beverage salesman who was having a good night. “I drove for Uber and Lyft for a short time. There was one situation I will never forget. He had down with Cubs gear (he told me about 400 dollars worth) and trashed from drinking all day at the game.

“The first thing he says when he gets in is, “I know my destination is X, but I need to go to my hotel first to put all this stuff away.” I say, “no problem” and he lets me know how appreciative he is and he will “make it worth my time.” I honestly didn’t mind waiting because the ride was still active so I was still making money. He gets back in the car and we start heading toward his original destination (about 30 minutes away).”

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1: Strip Club Tales

The strip club is a focal point of most Uber driver’s stories that we’ve read. Reddit user artmagic95833 told a quick strip club story. “Because I’m late to the party, but whatever Long story short, I got a fare to go to a strip club with the rider, who paid for the entire night and ended it by giving me $500 because “that is what was left.” As you can see, the strip club managed to be a fruitful experience for this Uber driver.

Uber drivers have some of the best and worst experiences of anyone in the ridesharing business. One of the best thing about Uber riding is the fact that you get to meet a different face every night.

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Uber Drivers Reveal Their Wildest Passenger Horror Stories

20: Frozen Puke

19: An Odd Explanation

18: Turtle Power

17: Kissing Cousins

16: The Singer

15: Too Much Fragrance

14: A Messy Night

13: A Threatening Ride

12: The Sausage Maker

11: The Kidnapper

10: Trapped Behind A Gate

9: The Womanizer

8: The Accidental Cyclist

7: A Lingering Hangover

6: Thoughtful Tipping

5: Avoiding The Babysitter

4: Strip Club Night

3: Scrapbooking Driver

2: The Fun Beverage Guy

1: Strip Club Tales

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