I have been driving part time uber since early June and it has been a great little supplement to my income. It has also been a lot of fun! The riders are usually friendly and it is just a pleasant way to make some extra money. Two days ago it became less pleasant. In fact it was downright depressing.
When you get a rider request your phone pings showing you the address you are to pick up your rider, and it shows the riders name. While I was in downtown San Diego, I received a ping showing an address just a few blocks away, the name showing…...Mohammed. Now for a brief nano-second a thought came into my mind that maybe I should pass on this one. It was immediately washed away by shame and guilt. You see, uber drivers don’t have to accept every ride request. There are various reasons, maybe the address is too far away, or the rider rating is too low, or…..a name.
In uber the passengers rate you on a scale from 1-5 but the drivers also rate the passengers on the same scale. In this particular case my rider, Mohammed, was rated at 4.7, not a terribly low rating but not a great rating either.
As I pulled up to the address a well dressed young man anxiously opened the door and hopped in. He thanked me profusely for picking him up and then said he was very late for his class at Souhtwestern college in Chula Vista. It was a long ride so right away i was glad i picked him up! He thanked me once again, and said that three previous drivers had cancelled on him. I said really? I allowed how that was very strange and he replied that is happening a lot in the last couple of days. We fell silent for a few moments and then I asked him the glaring, obvious question...do you think it has anything to do with your name? He reflected for a few seconds then he quietly said , “ I was trying not to think that.”
We pretty much drove the rest of the way in silence. I certainly didn’t want to tell him of my initial reaction, however brief it was. We pulled up to the school, and he thanked my once again and gave me a four dollar tip. I almost felt guilty taking it.
I had planned to drive a few more hours that day but i decided to make Mohammed my last ride of the day. i just didn’t feel up to it.