DISCLAIMER: Obviously, we can't 100% confirm all of these stories, but these people are supposedly speaking from their own experiences as alleged (former) employees.
As a passenger, you may have some interesting stories about your rideshares. But without a doubt, Uber and Lyft drivers have infinitely better stories about their trips and passengers.
Recently, we asked Uber and Lyft drivers of the BuzzFeed Community to share their most ridiculous or outrageous passenger stories — and wow, you can't make these up, folks!
So take a look at some of the wildest passenger stories below:
1. "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." —erikadisney
2. "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. I was clearly underprepared — 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.
Well, she lived in the middle of nowhere, and I was losing bars on my phone. After she threw up, I slammed on my brakes. Because I was underprepared, the only thing in my car to clean it up with were some Chipotle napkins and Febreze.
I dropped her off at home and realized I had only 15 miles 'til empty, no idea where I was in Ohio, AND my phone was dead. I did make it home though, and Uber paid me $150 extra on the spot for cleaning fees. I cleaned it myself for $15." —Anonymous, Ohio
3. "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 fuck off. He was big and was very aggressive.
As soon as he walked inside that store, I sped the fuck out of there. Keep in mind, this was on the restaurant manager's Lyft account, and I had no idea who this guy was." —soapsuds
4. "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 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 actually tipped me $100 in cash for the 20-minute drive to the tiddy shack." —napmaster77
5. "Pre-COVID, my dad would drive for Uber late at night. One night, he picks up a girl who’s drunk, 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!"
"She 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 obviously says no.
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 actually happened yesterday,' and tells them everything. The girls start laughing and go, 'We just heard this story from our friend! She was the girl!'
Apparently, she was quite embarrassed the next day — but it was a pretty funny situation to have the same Uber driver. My dad has some interesting stories, but this was definitely the most ridiculous." —Anonymous, Montana
6. "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." —Anonymous, Ohio
7. "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." —zaaaaaaaaaabby
8. "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." —Anonymous, Illinois
9. "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. He talked the whole ride about how he makes six figures and was starting a new position overseas. He rated me three stars and didn’t tip." —bathshebawilliams
10. "I picked up this guy who was drunk, and he asked me to take him to this bar. It was the bar he had just come out of."
—Anonymous, California
11. "I once was driving a Middle Eastern man to the airport, and a white man drove up next to us yelling derogatory things to him! He yelled, 'Go back to your country,' and drove in front of me, then slammed on his breaks!"
"I was shocked, and I'm a Black woman. I apologized to him profusely." —Anonymous, Virginia
12. 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." —jamesc420ce9ec1
Thoughts?! Are you the ridiculous passenger or do you have your own story to share? Let us know in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.