The ping comes in Princeton. Not too far away, not too long of a drive. But the rider's rating is a little low. Worrisome. I take it anyway.
A word about Princeton, which is to say the wealthiest part of New Jersey. It's also a very high risk / high reward place to do rideshare, because
(a) Very Wealthy people are often the Very Worst, and lots of people -- especially restaurant patrons who want to all drink -- are in that group
(b) the area is absolutely rife with deer, which are not a thing I want to drive around,
(c) the pandemic means no college students (they are usually more fun to talk to and easier to manage, because they are more dependent on rideshare to get around and hence care more about their ratings)
(d) the pandemic means a lot less tipsy high tipping pharma people on an expense account, and
(e) you often get preposterously long ride requests, which usually wipe me out, and take me to places I don't know. Not super safe.
On the other hand, the roads are smooth and you occasionally get a great conversation or tipping. All things being equal, I tend to avoid the area. Not as much as other areas, and not to the point of boycott, but enough.
A word about my car and service. It's currently a 2014 Honda Insight, as immaculate as I can manage with daily obsessive cleaning. It's a hybrid hatchback that gets 48 miles per gallon, and is more than comfortable enough for one to two passengers, or maybe three if one of them is a child. It's also got a heated back seat cover, hand sanitizer, and my rating has been over 4.9 for, like, ever. I've done this for over 17.5K rides, 7K+ hours in the app, and 4+ years.
I'm good at this. I know what I'm doing.
Data, not opinion.
So I roll up to the pick up, and the passenger gets in. She is, um, not small, but it's not a problem. The problem is her two friends. Both guys, both bigger than her, and not folks who can all fit in my back seat.
During the pandemic, sitting in the front seat isn't allowed. I have taken this change to load up the seat with a box of masks for those who don't have one (all hail Costco, but honestly, I'm not real thrilled at handing these out), a dust buster for when I can't get to my car wash, the breath mints and cough drops that I use for comfort and alertness (a cough drop tends to help against yawning, which happens more when you wear a mask all day), and face shields.
So, I'm using the space. You aren't allowed there. The hustle is not paying me enough to get the virus. I tell the passenger about the policy, and I get a puling little "The driver who brought us here was OK with it."
Well, why didn't you say so earlier? That's more than enough reason for me to disregard my own safety, put myself at risk in case you are a shill that's out to make sure the policy is followed (yes, that happens), and judging by the cumulative weight of what's about to enter my car, stress the shocks and tire pressure.
Or, well, not. I confirm with the passenger that she needs to order a bigger car (i.e., not the cheapest available Uber, which is how you get a guy in a compact, honestly), and cancel the ride.
Which gets me a raft of sputtering nonsense from a male passenger that got into the car with some difficulty, and is having more of it trying to get out.
After way more dialogue and sarcasm than necessary, he heaves himself out with a grunt, screams "You shouldn't be doing this" at me, then slams the door for all he's worth. Because that'll teach me the error of my ways for not providing him service!
Oh, and final fun point... since I canceled the ride, I got paid nothing, took the accepted ride rating hit, and was unable to give these charming folks the 3 stars or lower rating that means I'd get to avoid them for any future rides.
One more reason to avoid Princeton, honestly...
