Tales from an Uber Driver

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Jeff V
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Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

Because this needs it's own thread.

Today's topic -- homeless people.

Over a week ago, my wife was off and I worked late. I was to bring home dinner for me and my wife. Wife called about 8:15 and stated she was hungry. I had one more ride -- a pick up at Central Dupage Hospital (where our son was born, incidentally).

I pick up the guy, and he hands me a sheath of papers telling me it "should be everything I need." Umm...i don't ever need papers, but whatever, this guy didn't seem all that with it and I figured it would become clear. It was the hospital that summoned the Uber, they sent him to the administrative office of a homeless shelter.

Which closed for the day 4 hours earlier.

I took him to the next 4 shelters that Google claimed was open. The first 3, nobody answered the door, at which point he wanted to go to the police claiming racism. I told him I didn't think they were racist, there was just nobody there. The 4th place (and by then he asked me to accompany him) did answer the door -- but they didn't accept walk-ins, they had to go through the system. At this point the dude suggested taking him back to the hospital, and the guy at that shelter mentioned another hospital, Good Samaritan, was right down the street and could not refuse him. I took the dude there, waited for him to go in at the Emergency entrance (I declined to escort him), and took off as soon as he walked in the door.

Less than a week later...

I get summoned for a ride for a kid I drove several times that week from a Super 8 Motel down the street to his job at Jiffy Lube. This time though, he says he has a lot of stuff. Over the next 30 minutes (!) he proceeds to load my car with 14 bags of clothes, 2 back packs, a desktop computer and monitor. It's raining that day, and my back seat is nearly flooded while he loads everything. I go to take him to work (not the Jiffy Lube, but the Wendy's next door...he works at both), and he asks if I could go across the street, where there was a public works building. He proceeds to unload my car, stacking his stuff along the wall of the building. I ask him "what's you're plan?" He is 19 years old. and was evicted from the Super 8 because he wasn't 21. He said he would "sleep in the bushes". It was a rainy day, with temps in the 30's.

A public works truck pulled in while he was unloading, he spoke to the guy but I did not know what was said. My next ride was already queued, someone I knew from previous rides and when he came to the car I invited him to the front seat since the back was flooded. I then went home to get a towel to clean up the back seat. I also told my wife what happened, and she suggested letting the kid sleep in our basement. I didn't think I'd heard from him...but when I went back on line, the next ride to come in was this kid again, picking up his stuff, which he was going to take to work (I later learned that he was working at Rosati's Pizza and fired after showing up with all of his shit). So I met him by his stuff, asked him what's his story...his alcoholic father threw him out, his mother, and 8 sibling (2 were older, most in grammar or middle school). I told him he can drop his stuff in my garage and stay in our basement (he would have to clean it). I took him back to work, then 2 hours later, my wife called me and said he showed up at our house. She was trying to get some sleep before going to work, and asked me to come home and deal with him.

I fed the kid and discovered he really wanted to help his whole family. His mother had a WFH customer service job, his older sister worked two jobs as did him. He was trying to go it alone, but that didn't work out so well. I found a 4 bed/3 bath 2000 SQ home for rent at $2300/mo, near where his mother lived now. His mother was being evicted from her current house at the end of the month. There was an incentive to move into the one I found by the end of this month. Ultimately, the kid decided to go back home with his family, and try to work out something with the broker I found for him. He was supposed to meet me (and my kids) for dinner that night, but never showed, left a VM apologizing several hours later. I never responded to him...I wish him the best, he seems to be a good kid that rolled craps when it came to life's fortune.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Blackhawk »

As a former homeless kid, thank you for making an effort.
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Jeff V
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:33 pm As a former homeless kid, thank you for making an effort.
My judgement was the kid was safe, but having a family with young kids makes it hard to fully trust ones senses. He equally gives off the vibe of "he seemed like he was such a nice boy, I can't believe he shot the whole town dead." Had he elected to stay, I would have asked if he had a gun among his belongings and confiscated it if he did.

Plus, he looked a lot like my son extrapolated 10 years into the future. His hobby is creating music on the computer, and he claimed to be pretty good at it. All things that tug on my heart strings.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

A month or so ago, I picked up a guy at trucking yard. He was newly arrived from Dallas, and just interviewed for a job that he would get pending a drug test. His prospective employer summoned me to bring him to his hotel.

This guy was out of his element. He asked if I would be taking him to his drug test, I explained that the way it works, I drop him off at his hotel as arranged, and then he would call another Uber when he knows when and where to go. But he did not have the Uber app and did not know how it worked.

Before we got to his hotel, he got a text from his employer stating where the drug test was arranged. I was familiar with that location, and did not have another ride in the queue, so I said fine, let's go. I waited nearly an hour for him to come out (still had no other rides come in), after which he asked if we could stop somewhere to get warm clothes -- he was dressed for Dallas weather and it was somewhat colder. So I took him to Bass Pro Shops, where he augmented his wardrobe and then I dropped him off at his hotel (finally!) The whole thing wasn't worth my while financially, but I felt good helping someone who needed an empathetic person right there and then.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Unagi »

I've been tempted to maybe start Uber driving (or oddly, I've been thinking Lyft may be better, but I honestly don't know a thing).

I'm quasi-retired.

These stories bring a lot to my consideration. Some day I may actually PM you Jeff for more specific information.

Thing for me is, I've honestly always liked driving (road trips, etc) - so this seems like something I may actually 'kinda' enjoy... But it also seems like a big jump in personal exposure to all number of risks, so I always hold back on thinking it may actually be fun.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

Unagi wrote: Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:59 pm I've been tempted to maybe start Uber driving (or oddly, I've been thinking Lyft may be better, but I honestly don't know a thing).

I'm quasi-retired.

These stories bring a lot to my consideration. Some day I may actually PM you Jeff for more specific information.

Thing for me is, I've honestly always liked driving (road trips, etc) - so this seems like something I may actually 'kinda' enjoy... But it also seems like a big jump in personal exposure to all number of risks, so I always hold back on thinking it may actually be fun.
If you do, please do PM me first, I can refer you an maybe get a bonus (maybe, because the friend who referred me was apparently denied the bonus because I registered my name as "Jeffrey" instead of "Jeff.")
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Unagi »

In your stories, it seems more than 'luck'.

Are people able to request you as their Uber Driver specifically?
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

I will say that's been a very positive experience, I would just suggest going offline if you find yourself in a shooty part of town. I don't mind dropping off people there, but I'll go offline until I get out of the 'hood.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Unagi »

How does that work? Let's say I only want to work in the North Suburbs... is that a joke, or is that just a setting and you deal with the limitation?
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

Unagi wrote: Tue Dec 13, 2022 11:15 pm How does that work? Let's say I only want to work in the North Suburbs... is that a joke, or is that just a setting and you deal with the limitation?
Uber allows you to restrict an area 2 hours per day, by county. Otherwise, you need to filter your rides yourself, but if you reject too many rides, you can't be in the tier that allows you to see where your rides are going! I would prefer spending my time in the far west burbs, but it doesn't always end up that way. I'll reject a trip to the city (or O'hare) in the afternoon if it means I can't get home in time to be home before the kids get home from school. Twice a day though you can state a destination -- then it will allegedly give you trips that get you closer to your destination (say, home), but sometimes the algorithm is way off base...one time I was trying to get home to Yorkville from Mundelein, and it got me a ride to the lakefront in Chicago because I guess it considered it was south enough to be helpful...but I still had to go 90 minutes west.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

I don't know about Lyft, other than being told it pays less than Uber.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Kraken »

I like the Uber drivers who pretend to be deaf.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Unagi »

Could you fashion something like working fairly 'unrestricted' from 9 am-2 pm (easy, I'm sure)....

(key part to the question:)
then route yourself home via preferred destination... but then also work that night (let's say 7:00-10:00) , but only "very locally" ?
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Unagi »

Is the answer basically:

Yeah, you could filter your rides yourself from 9-2, and then go on a 'single county' tour for 2 hours in the late PM.... (correct?)
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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Definitely not the job for me, I don't trust my people judging skills enough. ...if there was a pet Uber where you just deal with animals. :wink:
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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I could do it if the steering wheel were in the back seat, but having them behind me? No thank you.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Carpet_pissr »

em2nought wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 3:37 am Definitely not the job for me, I don't trust my people judging skills enough. ...if there was a pet Uber where you just deal with animals. :wink:
I’m sure there is. If not, small business opportunity!
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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Can Uber drivers set their own destination route?
I was in Dallas and had one Uber driver tell me they could and one say they couldnt.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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stimpy wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:24 am Can Uber drivers set their own destination route?
I was in Dallas and had one Uber driver tell me they could and one say they couldnt.
You can ignore the given route. It updates as you progress.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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Do you need a cell phone to use Uber?
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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I did Uber for a year or two when for something to do when it was relatively new and because I had a new Tesla Model 3. Does not seem to pan out if you have to pay for gas. I gave it up because the meager income wasn't worth the wear and tear on my vehicle or psyche.

I only refused one passenger: They wanted a ride to LA at about 3:45 PM, and there was no way I was fighting rush hour traffic. I told them I didn't have enough charge to make it, which was nearly true.

The only story I remember was a drunk guy who claimed he played hockey for the Anaheim Ducks (I looked it up later but couldn't find him) wanted a ride to a nightclub at 10:00 AM. Of course the place was closed, so he wanted to sneak back into his wife's house. He told me to take the toll road. At the time I was reluctant because I thought it would be on my nickle. He insisted saying he would give me a big tip (he didn't). I was relieved to see him go.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by em2nought »

dbt1949 wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 3:36 pm Do you need a cell phone to use Uber?
Probably not if you live at the airport. :lol:
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

Update on the kid -- I gave him a ride the other day, his family found a house near where his cousin lives, and he seemed very satisfied with this arrangement. I asked him what he was doing for Xmas, he assumed he would be working...his jobs are at Jiffy Lube and Wendy's...both unlikely to be open that day. He seemed genuinely perplexed when I told him this. I then invited him to my wife's church and pot luck dinner on Xmas day, religious things aren't normally something I'd recommend to anyone, but it's what I gotta do that day, so any chance to spread the misery...
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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stimpy wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:24 am Can Uber drivers set their own destination route?
I was in Dallas and had one Uber driver tell me they could and one say they couldnt.
There's a feature where twice a day you can set a destination. Sometimes, if you do a long ride (say an hour, but airports don't count for some reason) they will give you an extra destination.

The destination feature is really hit-or-miss. It really could be a simple algorithm -- distance to fare+distance to destination is <= current distance to destination. But it doesn't work that well. I set a destination to home (Yorkville) from Mundelein once, and my next ride took me to the gold coast in Chicago. Because I was way north, the gold coast is way south from there, but it didn't take into account I need to be way way WAY west, the time from Mundelein to Yorkville was probably half the time it was from the gold coast to Yorkville.

Sometimes though, especially if I'm south west or south east of where I need to be, it works ok.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

Post by Jeff V »

I've been remiss at updating this thread...

Today I had a short ride with a guy who looked middle age when he got into the car...but was on the phone talking to someone about college football tryouts. When he hung up, he finally acknowledged me and I responded it sounded like he had a busy couple of months coming up. Dude is trying out for several Div 1 colleges as a long-snapper and was already accepted by a Div 2 school. Dude is 57, and is striving to be the oldest player ever in Div 1 football.

Dude's first name is Ian, if he reaches his goal, I'm sure it will be a big news story.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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And that's why you're the best, Issy...
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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:wub:
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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I'm pretty sure trying out for a college football team at 58 would kill me. :think:
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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em2nought wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 2:30 am I'm pretty sure trying out for a college football team at 58 would kill me. :think:
He told me he had tried out for Kansas and was told that his on-field death would bum everyone out for the rest of the season. I wonder if he can sue them for ageism?
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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I played with the idea back when I was around 40. I wanted to go for the punter/kicker. But I wasn't fool enough to follow thru.
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Re: Tales from an Uber Driver

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He should look into NDSCS. They have a
49 YO defensive tackle.
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