Twice in the last week, friendly passengers have asked if I carry a weapon while doing this. When I replied without a direct response, but cited the number of rides I've given without need of one, they decided they had the answer they needed, and I must be crazy. "All it takes is one crackhead," said one passenger, a retired police from Florida, as if said crackhead had a rideshare account in good standing, a phone, and the desire to make trouble for someone doing them a service while carrying no cash. But if you only ever see people on one of the worst days of their lives, I guess it makes that kind of behavior feel like the default.
And after all, all it takes is one.
Two days ago, the pick up is in Trenton, four middle to high school boys, ten minute ride while they see if they can get a rise out of me with asks like "How much for this car?" and "Pull over, I'mma gonna shoot someone", along with comments about who's gay for who and so on. One of the four is apologizing about the conduct of the other three, but they are all laughing and it's a nice day out, and the first rule of rideshare is get home safe, so I let it all wash over me and drop them at their point. A block away, I give them 3 stars so that I don't have to do that again anytime soon, and get back to my day.
This kind of ride happens every few weeks or so on average, usually with drunken teens at night, and I've learned over the years not to take it personally. It's just going to happen sometimes, and it doesn't really mean anything.
An hour later, as I'm toggling back and forth between the apps, Uber won't open and tells me that my account has been suspended. So for the next day, I'm working just Lyft, which costs me some money and gets me into a mental rabbit hole. Has Uber been listening to my conversations? Some passengers have that set for rides, and while I try to remember to be circumspect when they do that, it's easy to forget if someone engages in conversation.
Did I say something to someone that offended? Is my style of work (bouncing between apps, trying to maximize ROI) no longer acceptable to Uber? Is this their way of getting away from a less profitable driver in a car that, while spotless, is 10+ years old and small? You're working by yourself for so many hours, and there's nothing to stop you from just ruminating.
The next morning, Uber is still not working, so I start the shift as Lyft only, with the resolution to see if I can get through the entire day while not saying any word that is not 100% necessary. That lasts for the better part of four hours because money, and it's in the middle of another quiet ride that my phone rings. Uber security, calling to follow up on a complaint that got my account suspended. I mention the teens, and the complaint came shortly after I dropped them.
The report that Uber is investigating claimed that I was sexually aggressive, touching passengers, and trying to get personal information, with some particularly soft-porn details that don't seem terribly feasible in broad daylight with witnesses. After laughing, I explain the unlikelihood of any of that (monogamous, straight, 9 years, 36K+ rides, near 5.0 record, a substitute teacher, homeowner, father, husband, college graduate, etc.) and the likely motivation of the people filing the report. The investigator agrees and notes that this all just protocol, and asks if I have a dashcam camera (no, don't want to live in a survalliance state), or if I've ever engaged in any of a number of obviously questionable acts (again, protocol to ask). My Lyft passenger, hearing this from the back seat, shakes his head and says "People are crazy" a lot.
Several hours later, the account is reinstated, and I go back to my usual methods.
So, yeah, all it takes is one.
One false report to get your account suspended and cost you money and good will.
One group of kids behaving badly to make you think you have no option but to self-censor.
One incident to make you think about complying with constant survalliance and a loss of privacy.
And later, one good passenger, conversation and tip to make you forget about living your life in fear, because living a life in fear just isn't worth it.
Because when you do that, you get to spend all your time in the presence of someone you don't really like.
Mostly because they are just so goddamned afraid of everything...
