Taxi Drivers Reveal The Juiciest Secrets They've Overheard

October 4, 2021 | Eul Basa

Taxi Drivers Reveal The Juiciest Secrets They've Overheard


There's never a dull moment when you work as a taxi driver. You just never know who you're going to pick up next or what secrets they'll let slip out. Oftentimes, it's the passengers who seem the most harmless who have the darkest things to share. Here are some of the juiciest secrets taxi drivers have overheard while on the job.


1. Stepping In

An 18-year-old guy who was a regular customer of mine was stressing over his exam results. He told me that if he’d failed, his life was over and he would have to end it all. He was completely serious. I was terrified—but I knew just what to do. Apparently, his parents had been putting overwhelming pressure on him. When I brought him home, I called his father out of the house, and by that time the poor guy was in tears.

I told him to tell his dad what he’d told me. The father was distraught. I let them both talk for a bit and eventually, the father got him out of the car and brought him inside. Later on, the guy updated me on what happened—he told his parents the whole story and they were horrified. They soon got him into therapy. I have no idea whether he passed his exams or not, but I do know he was alright afterward.

I was very shaken up about it. The situation could have easily gone wrong.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

2. Mystery Bags

I conducted incident reports for Uber. I would often get rider complaints about a driver's behavior or driver complaints about a rider's behavior. One time, a driver called in to tell us that his car was written off and therefore he couldn't work any more shifts. I asked him what happened—but I was NOT prepared for the story he told me.

Turned out, the driver picked up a guy at 2 am and he put these two duffel bags in the trunk. He told the driver he'd done something he really regretted and that he needed to take a ride to a nearby underpass with a river. When they got there, he threw the duffel bags into the river. The driver called 9-1-1 first, mostly to tell them that the guy was being weird as heck.

After a brief search in the river for the bags, officers found the rider's girlfriend in the bags. The smell was so bad in the car that the cleaning crew couldn't remove the smell or stains after the forensics exam. The insurance company wrote off the car.

Taxi overheardPexels

 

3. No Witnesses

My uncle was a taxi driver in LA. One day, he picked up two guys who were discussing a murder they were going to commit. After a while, they started debating whether they should also do my uncle since he had heard them talking about their plan and could identify them. They eventually decided not to, but that was the day my uncle decided to stop being a taxi driver.

Taxi overheardPiqsels

4. The 25-Year Affair

I was helping out a friend of my dad's who owned a bar in Ontario, driving his regulars home. It was my first fare of the night, and the guy I picked up confessed his darkest secret. He told me he was cheating on his wife with his dealer. To clarify, the dealer was a woman (quite good in bed too, from his detailed description). Apparently, it had been going on for 25 years.  I don't know what impresses me more, a 25-year affair or a 25-year substance habit.

Taxi overheardPexels

5. Out With The Old

I was driving a fare to the airport when I hit a large patch of black ice. The taxi skidded hit a guardrail, careening off another car that had flipped. I white-knuckled the heck out of it. We kidded safely into the berm, and I called my buddy to get me. We then proceeded to take the fare to his destination. While we were on the way, the fare asked me why I was driving a cab.

I told him I was saving up for a car since I was 22 and broke. He then handed me his card and told me to call him tomorrow. When I did, I found out his undisclosed profession—he was a fleet manager for Hertz. He sold me a used rental car for peanuts. Best fare ever.

Taxi overheardPexels

6. Conversion Therapy

This one passenger told me that she convinced her gay friend to try being intimate with her just to find out the difference. The guy finally gave in and liked it. They hooked up a few more times, but that was it. The sad part was that she just found out the guy is now going out with her best friend and he swears up and down that he's straight.

She regrets having "converted" him and now she doesn’t know whether she’s just jealous of her friend or truly in love with him. She later asked for my advice on how to break them up. Haven't had THAT conversation before...

Taxi overheardUnsplash

7. Battling Demons

There was a lady I picked up at like 4 am who was obviously desperately seeking something out. We had over an hour and a half of a drive to go and I could tell she was physically hurting. She remained quiet for the first 45 minutes but was also texting often. At some point, she got a phone call and started arguing with someone who didn’t want her to go to her destination.

She kept saying she would be fine. I asked out of concern if she was okay, and she finally admitted the truth. The call was from her girlfriend—she didn't want her to go to this house in a fancy area to meet up with some dudes who wanted her to come over and hang out in exchange for some pills. Her girlfriend was convinced it would end badly.

I told her that I’d been in a similar situation with addiction when I was younger and that she could still beat it. She cried and cried. I had an old vape in my car and I gave it to her so she could chill out. It worked—she canceled her trip and I returned her to her pick-up location. She slept the whole way back. I hope she made it out of that addiction. It can really feel hopeless when you don’t know how to get out.

Taxi overheardPexels

8. Whip It Real Good

Uber driver here. One time, I picked up a dude from an adult club. He was a well-known local celebrity. His drop-off was in an affluent neighborhood in the foothills. As I pulled into the driveway, a half-naked, middle-aged woman in lingerie was standing by the garage. He told me, "This is close enough," so I stopped about 20 yards from the woman.

She cracked a whip and pointed to the ground at her feet. The dude then got out and on his hands and knees in his Armani suit and started crawling toward her. When he arrived at her, she cracked the whip again, pointed at me, and said: "You’re next."

Taxi overheardUnsplash

9. Broken Bonds

I used to drive for Uber for about a year. The craziest moment I experienced was with this teenaged kid who needed a ride on Thanksgiving evening after he got beat up. When he rushed into my car, his dad came out of the house and tried to stop me from leaving. I backed out of there and drove an hour and a half away to the kid's girlfriend's house.

I felt bad for the kid—apparently, he was trying to reconnect with his estranged family and it ended in a really bad physical altercation. I'm just glad I could get him to a safe place.

Taxi overheardWikimedia.Commons

10. Stork Delivery

I used to drive for Uber in Ottawa. A woman had dinner with her best friend and got in the passenger side first. Their conversation went something like this: "I'm pregnant but I haven't told him yet. Of course, I want him to be the first to know." "After me?" "Oh my God! That's right, you're the first I've told. I'm totally freaking out right now." "It's cool. No big deal."

Anyway, five minutes later, they started joking about it with me. She asked me what my name was and I told her it was Andrew. She said: "It was between that and Andrew for the middle name. This is a sign!" I responded, "What if it's a girl?" and she said, "She'll be one of those cool chicks with a male middle name like Michael Burnham." Sweetest conversation of my life.

Taxi overheardFlickr

11. Hey, I Know You

Former Uber driver here. I picked up a very well-dressed lady from one side of town who was heading to a very rich neighborhood on the other side of town. During the ride, she made a series of calls and it became clear she was a "working girl" with quite a few customers. It also became clear that I was delivering her to her biggest client.

He was an accident and injury attorney who is known for extremely extensive advertising in my local area. Anybody around here would know his name...and he was supposed to be married with a family and everything. Ah. Well. My passenger indicated otherwise. His house was a very nice mansion. Law must pay well.

 

Taxi overheardShutterstock

12. Something's Fishy

I gave a ride to two women who spent the whole time debating whether or not the man whose house I had just picked them up from had ended their friend's life. She just happened to croak in his kitchen earlier that same day. The alleged victim was a woman in her early 40s who lived with the man and had, according to his report, stopped breathing quite unexpectedly after an afternoon of yard work and bike-riding.

Her best friends weren't having it.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

13. Ad Battles

Pre-Uber, I worked for a limo service. I picked up this woman from the hotel who needed to go to the airport. She literally didn’t say a word to me the entire time, which was fine—she was just talking business on her phone or whatever. I couldn’t help but overhear that her company represented avocado growers and she had been in town to listen to two advertising pitches.

One agency wanted to do radio spots using The Zombies' "Time of the Season" while the other agency wanted to do actual ads on TV. She made it clear on the phone that her company was going with the second agency that wanted to do the TV spots. When I dropped her off at the airport, she paid me while still not acknowledging my existence.

A few seconds after, two business guys got into my vehicle. They were very friendly, asking me all sorts of questions. Eventually, I found out that they worked for one of the ad agencies that had just pitched avocado ads...Radio ads, in fact. They were the ones who wanted to use The Zombies' "Time of the Season." I couldn't believe how cool it was—until I realized what I had to do. They were very optimistic about their chances.

"Oh yeah?" I said. "That’s funny because I just drove the person you guys made your pitch to." They replied, "Really? Did she make a decision?" I then said, "Listen, guys—I hate to break it to you but you didn’t get the job." It got very quiet at that point, and of course, they called her to give them a piece of their minds. That was all fine with me, until somehow I got looped into it all...

It came out that the limo driver, a.k.a. me, was the one who spilled the beans. SHE WAS IRATE!!! Luckily, my friend owned the company, and when she called demanding that I be fired, he just humored her. Not the most discrete moment of my life.

Taxi overheardPexels

14. Playa, Playa

I picked up a blind couple once. They didn't live together—he lived about three miles further on than she did, so I'd pick them up and their dogs from town, then drop her at home and take him on. This one day, her daughter was with them. When we arrived at her house, I hopped out to get the door. As I was helping the blind woman out, the blind man held back and shared a little embrace with the daughter.

They were kissing and whispering to each other. The daughter then got out of the taxi, and the blind woman kind of looked like she knew what was happening. I immediately jumped back into the car and took the blind man home. I didn't say a word. I was in disbelief. This guy wasn't exactly a looker...he was overweight, poorly dressed, smelt funny, and was freaking blind. Yet he had two girls. I was completely shocked.

Taxi overheardPexels

15. Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I work for Uber Black in Los Angeles. One time, I picked up a customer who had just gotten off a flight from Mexico. He had two stops: At the first one, he waited for some "compadres" who loaded five duffel bags in my SUV. At the second stop, we drove all the way to San Jose...which was a six-hour drive! After a $2,500 fare and $400 tip, I never dared ask what was in those bags!

Taxi overheardFlickr

16. The Wrong Brother

I've worked for Uber and one time, a passenger who was clearly intoxicated told me she should have married her brother-in-law. She said her husband was not well "endowed" and was much less handsome, but because he was far richer than her brother-in-law, she married him.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

17. Poker Face

I worked for a rental car agency and would pick up customers or drop them off at their homes. Anyway, one lady I drove had just lost her son the day before. She lived in a rougher part of town and I think there was some gang activity involved if I remember correctly. Her son, the victim, was a student and not a thug. The poor lady was just trying to keep it together and get through her daily obligations. If she hadn't told me outright, I would have never guessed she was going through something. She kept that secret well.

Taxi overheardPexels

18. Sister Saboteurs

One time, I picked up a few girls who were super tipsy. As the ride went on, I overheard them talking about how all three of them had their boyfriends stolen away from them away at some point in their lives. They were young, so maybe it started in high school. To cope with their rage, they admitted that they would try to sabotage other people's relationships, even if the people they targeted did nothing wrong to them.

The most disturbing part of their conversation was when they revealed the ways they did it. It was definitely too much information for me to handle. Dirty women...Disgusting. The men didn't even have a chance. One girl kept saying, "They never say no, they never say no."

Taxi overheardShutterstock

19. The Tortured Soldier

I own a taxi company in Sweden, but I only work on the weekends because I've got a job at a factory as a diesel mechanic. One night, as I parked at a gas station to get some Redbull, these two older men approached me, both clearly tipsy. They wanted to go home, and their place was a bit off in the woods, so I figured it would be a good fare.

I got my Redbull and put them into my car. One of the guys then started talking to the other, saying, "Come to my house, let's have more drinks." The other guy just smiled in a friendly manner. When we got there, the guy insisted his friend come in for a drink, but he kindly declined and told me to drive him to his house.

Just before I started to drive away, the other guy showed up and handed him an unopened can, for the road. I thought, okay, he's already tipsy as heck, what more damage could one can do? I hit his address on my GPS and we eventually hit a section of road that was really dark. It was just me and the tipsy guy. I started feeling a little bit on edge—with good reason.

I don't know what happened, but out of nowhere, he suddenly started losing it. It seemed like was having some sort of PTSD flashbacks. He was a big guy with a tough attitude, so I started to worry that things would get out of hand and I wouldn't be able to control him. At one point, he started hallucinating and became very scared.

He would explain in detail how he was kidnapped and tormented, and how a lot of his fellow friends in the army lost their lives right in front of him. But the thing that made him totally lose it was when he revealed that once, he and three other soldiers were captured by enemy forces—and they made him shoot his friend. He started bawling his eyes out like a little baby.

He never told anyone, never got sentenced, and the remaining two men who still were alive didn't say a word. They met up that evening, on Memorial Day no less, and got hammered. I just happened to be the driver that night. Now imagine being alone with a killer in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, that was terrifying.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

20. Shared Hobbies

One time, I picked up a guy in his mid-20s who was buzzing pretty good. During our conversation, he revealed that he and his wife were swingers. I had a million questions about their lifestyle, so I took the opportunity to ask him. When I asked him how they found other swingers, he explained that there were a few websites and Facebook groups that made communication easy.

I dropped him off at his house about 20 miles into the country. He got out and said, “You're cool, man. If my wife were home, I would let you guys get acquainted with each other.” I just chuckled and drove away. After picking up my next passenger, she informed me that a phone was left on the seat. Knowing that it was the swinger dude’s phone, I was curious...very curious.

So, once I dropped the lady off, I looked at his phone—it was unlocked and the Facebook app had a notification. I had to look. Sure enough, there was a gal flashing herself and asking the group, “Anybody going to Bon Jovi tonight and want to hook up after?” I laughed and finished the night giving people rides to the Bon Jovi concert, wondering if they were part of the “group.”

Taxi overheardPexels

21. A Dishonest Living

These two guys were talking freely about their scam op and going into the specifics of how they could get the most out of it. The scam had something to do with cars and I can’t remember what it was, but I do remember them saying they've earned around $20 million so far.

Taxi overheardUnsplash

22. Heaven Abroad

Former Uber driver here. I picked a girl up from a bar on a Wednesday night. She was absolutely hammered, and it was only about 10 pm. She got into my car, apologized for being so tipsy, and politely asked if we could just drive around for a little while, with the windows down. I was prepping for a cleaning fee, trying to pull a vomit bag out of the glove box.

But she kept it together, simply putting one hand out the backseat window and making an airplane motion. She asked me if I had ever thought about dying, to which I replied, "Yeah, I guess so." That's when she told me her big secret—she had cancer. It was in her brain and it was too far gone for chemo to be effective.

I remember my heart just pounding. She told me she was dying and yet she seemed perfectly okay. That night, she was celebrating with her work friends who threw her a going-away party. She told them she was just taking a position abroad. "I just didn't tell them that abroad was heaven." Man...I turned off my app and cried my butt all the way home.

Taxi overheardUnsplash

23. Away On "Business"

I picked up this young, overly affectionate couple who spent the entire trip making out in my backseat and telling each other that they loved each other. Cute. I dropped them off, then went to pick up my text fare. All of a sudden, I heard a cellphone ring in my backseat—I realized the phone belonged to the previous passenger.

I picked up the phone to let whoever was on the line know that I was on route to give it back to the owner. Turned out, it was the guy's wife phoning in to check on him, since he was on a "business trip." Little did she know that he was actually with his mistress the entire time.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

24. Pick And Choose

One time, I was driving a dude on a trip that was going to take around 30 minutes. He wasn't hammered, but he was definitely a bit tipsy. It was late and he must've been feeling a bit down, so he confided in me and asked me for some advice. He told me that he was madly in love with his fiance's best friend and that he couldn't back out now.

He'd been with his fiance for four years and they were to be married in a few months. I really felt for the guy—he went through five or so years of ups and downs with his girl, and her best friend had always been there for him. After a few years, he developed feelings and it was just downhill from there.

At the same time, he seemed like he was truly in love with his fiance too. Going through with the marriage meant a lifetime of being around the other girl and having to suppress his feelings, but not going through with it would mean losing both of the girls. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I hope he's doing okay.

Taxi overheardPexels

25. Weird Vibes

I picked up two guys who wanted to go to a club 40 miles away. As they requested an Uber Select fare, I was happy to drive that far. That was a quick $80 to $100. It took them 15 minutes to get ready, but they seemed cool so I wasn't worried. As soon as we got on the freeway, the guy in the passenger seat started asking about my Uber experience—that's when things got dark.

He'd ask me stuff like, "What would you do if someone just grabbed the steering wheel and ran the car into the median," and "Have you ever thought about what would happen if someone in the back seat tried to choke you while you were driving?" I got a little freaked out and tried to lighten the mood by asking the other guy what occasion they were celebrating, etc., but the one guy just kept at it.

I was happy to get to the club and get them the heck out of my car. While they never revealed a secret, it made me realize that no matter how normal a passenger may seem, there's always a chance they are actually crazy. I never drove Uber again.

Taxi overheardUnsplash

26. Closeted In The Castro

I drove this 19-year-old kid and his girlfriend during Pride weekend in San Francisco. They made out the entire ride. When we arrived at her house, only she got out. Then, once she was inside, he said, "Take me to Castro and 18th." I said, "Really?" and he said, "Yeah, I only make out with girls when I've had a few drinks in."

By the way, The Castro is one of the most well-known LGBTQ neighborhoods. Even the crosswalks are rainbows. Never a dull moment in San Francisco.

Taxi overheardWikimedia.Commons

27. Justice For Dads

I picked up a divorced father whose buddy paid for his Lyft ride to the bar. He was supposed to see his kid that evening, but the wife wasn't feeling it. Apparently, she had custody, so she had the authority to decide when he could see his child. It was just terrible to see a man who desperately wanted to spend time with his kid be completely blocked from doing so.

The state of California had given dads so little rights (from how this guy described it) that even though he had a stable job and a good house, it was still a no-go. That was a tough one because I was so powerless to help.

Taxi overheardPexels

28. A Shoulder To Lean On

I picked up a girl to take her straight from work to the hospital to see her dad. Her mom had called her because it was serious. Her dad had cancer. I dropped her off and hoped everything would work out okay for her. But the next night, I was taking people home from bars and I ran into her again—apparently, her two guy friends took her out to get wasted because her dad had passed.

When I took them to get pizza, she came outside and we talked about it a little. That was probably the one ride where I felt like I had a positive impact on someone's life beyond getting them home safely.

Taxi overheardPexels

29. Marital Issues

I was taking two couples home. When I dropped off the first couple, the husband of the second couple made a comment that I didn't hear. Apparently, he insulted the wife of the first couple, who also happened to be his wife's best friend. The wife of the second couple didn't like that, so she hit him...and not like a playful slap, either.

She literally struck her husband with full force across the face. At that point, I laid down the law: "We're not going anywhere if this is how it's going to be." They eventually settled down, but throughout the ride, the dude kept asking me, "How would you feel if you were me?" I just kept responding, "It's not about how I feel—you two need to discuss this tomorrow when you're sober."

Taxi overheardUnsplash

30. Bon Voyage

My friend drives for Uber in my hometown. One time, he picked up some really nice girls out on a Friday night. They were talking about their plans for the following autumn season. My friend thought he recognized one of them—turned out, it was my little sister. He told me all about her conversation, and that's how I found out my little sister was moving to Spain.

Taxi overheardWikimedia.Commons

31. Not My Expertise

I picked up a girl on one Saturday evening. She was a bit upset and a little teary, and eventually, she opened up to me. Her story was one heck of a wild ride. Apparently, a business she had started was failing and she was in debt. She turned to exotic dancing to cover the bills. She said the pay was good but she kept getting really sick from all of the booze she felt obliged to drink (part of her job was to get guys to spend money at the bar).

She hated it and kept saying she felt trapped. She asked me what I would do in her situation, but since I'm a guy, I found it kind of hard to give her an answer. The only thing I could do was end the trip early.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

32. Spanish Spat

One time, I picked up two young Spanish guys. They were clean-cut, spoke English very well, and were really polite. Still, something just seemed...off. The first red flag was that they both decided to sit in the back when typically one person would ride up front. It was quiet for a bit until they started speaking to each other in Spanish.

I know some Spanish, and considering how quiet they were speaking, I knew they were trying to be secretive. So I started eavesdropping. It gradually became easier to hear them because they got louder and louder as their conversation continued. It was obvious they were arguing. I couldn't make out much, but I did hear them say 'me', 'you', 'they', 'where', and the name of some location.

Eventually, they stopped arguing and that's when I heard the phrase "Tu command, or "You get out." From what I remember, that was a very disrespectful way to speak to someone. One of them then said to me, very politely: "My friend forgot his date tonight, could you please let him out here so he can walk home before we get further away?"

I was conflicted, but I ultimately complied with his request. I figured I must've been interpreting their conversation wrong. The one who got out thanked me for the ride, apologized for the inconvenience, then said one more thing in Spanish to his friend before he left. After that, I thought I had definitely misunderstood them. But this night was just beginning.

Next, the dude asked if I could change the destination, saying his plans had changed now. I said of course, but I was also getting very suspicious. It was a long drive—longer than the first destination—and we began to leave town. Finally, I pulled up to this old farmhouse that looked abandoned, thinking it was his home. But when the guy got out, he didn't walk toward the house.

He just kind of stood there and said bye. I drove off down the road but turned back around out of curiosity. I saw that the guy was walking along the side of the road toward a small graveyard, a decent ways away from the house. I didn't slow down because I didn't want him to think I was snooping. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm pretty sure there was something hidden in that cemetery.

My theory is that as soon as his buddy told him where it was, he cut him out of the deal and made him get out. I think the first guy I dropped off may have even been scared of the other guy. Weirdest night of my life.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

33. A Hidden Passion

My mom gives rides in San Diego, which is a city that loves its Navy. It's where future SEALs go to BUDS. My mom was telling me that she once gave a ride to a young man who was about 20 years old. He had been fighting to become a SEAL his whole life but ended up falling asleep on the last day or two of BUDS. He consequently got dropped for the season.

He was crushed because he made it through everything before and now he would have to wait until the next season before being able to enroll again. Anyway, during the ride, he started to open up to my mom about his other passion which was medicine and she suggested that he chase that dream instead because he came off as a very caring and devoted person.

At the end of the ride, he asked her to step out of the car so he could give her a hug and a huge thanks for lending an ear and giving her opinion about the situation. He also left her his phone number so he could give her a call and let her know what he decided to do. A few days later, he gave her a call and said he had returned back home to Texas where he would start taking pre-med courses.

Taxi overheardPexels

34. False Call

One time, I picked up a group of three guys, probably around my age (in their mid-20s). They seemed nervous as they were actively avoiding eye contact with me and they were pretty much silent from the moment they hopped in. I tried confirming their destination and asking them how their night was going, etc., but I only got muffled mumbling in return.

As always, I worked the situation out in my head and immediately thought of the worst-case scenarios. "Are these guys trying to rob me? Jack my car? Did they just off somebody? Am I an accessory? Do they have knowledge of the impending apocalypse?" But as my paranoia routine winded down, I slowly started to realize what was going on.

Between the beads of sweat, the occasional jaw clenching, and finally, the random giggle outbursts...these kids were tripping and tripping hard. Once it hit me, I called them out immediately and told them I was cool. They looked so relieved. I started blasting music and they just started geeking out at that point. Fun ride.

Taxi overheardPexels

35. Sugar Babies

I drove a lot of college-aged girls who were looking for a sugar daddy or already had one. They wanted 30-year-old men with a good job and no children who were willing to buy them lots of things and pay their rent. I had no idea this was so popular, but practically every girl who opened her mouth that night went on about a guy and his "stats." One girl even admitted to sleeping with someone who had the same name as her dad and was the same age as him.

Taxi driverPexels

36. A True Pessimist

This guy who was in his late-20s told me that was having intimate relations with a girl who just recently turned 18. I awkwardly said, "Good for you" and he proceeded to tell me that things were not good—in fact, his life sucked, and everything he did to make himself happy didn't work. Then, things started getting really messed up. He told me he watches videos of people ending it all and he wished he had the courage to go through with it himself.

He also told me he was going to go to San Francisco to spend every last penny he had, then jump off the Golden Gate Bridge when he was done. I didn't really know what to say. When I dropped him off, I told him that I hope things start looking up for him. He just said, "They won't. They never do" and left.

Taxi overheardUnsplash

37. Live-Action Break-Up

My husband drove a couple that broke up in the backseat of his car. The woman made fun of her boyfriend's ex, talking about how she had bad teeth. The boyfriend said her teeth were fine and that she was being really judgmental. She then asked him if he was still in love with his ex. He thought for a moment, said yes, and she started crying.

There was some kind of confusion about where to get dropped off since she just wanted to go home while he wanted to go somewhere in the opposite direction. Super awkward for my husband!

Taxi overheardShutterstock

38. New Identity

I drove for Lyft in Denver, Colorado between jobs this summer. I picked up this guy who was going to the airport—he said he was moving to Florida to get away from it all. But he didn't have any luggage, not even a carry-on. I wasn't going to say anything about it, but my curiosity got the best of me. "So, where's all your luggage? Did you ship everything ahead of time?"

He didn't say anything right away. Just as I was deciding that perhaps I wasn't going to get an answer, he spoke up: "Nah, I just had my friend call me a Lyft and he set up my flight. I just escaped from prison but we look so much alike, so his ID will work for me to travel." I was quiet the rest of the trip.

Taxi overheardFlickr

39. Russian Roulette

I had a guy tell me how his brother passed, and it was heartbreaking. It was ultimately his fault, but everyone thought it was an accident. When he was a teenager, he got a hold of a pistol that he thought was unloaded...but it wasn't. While playing with it near his brother, he let a shot out. When his brother got hit, he made it look like he had shot himself.

At least that's what he told me. He moved from Russia to the US and doesn't talk to any of his family anymore.

Taxi overheardPexels

40. Don't Mess With Me

I just tried Uber for the first time two nights ago. We asked the lady what her craziest moment was and she proceeded to tells us of a dude who grabbed her and tried to force her to kiss him. Luckily, she had some sort of brass knuckle and she immediately put a hole in his cheek.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

41. Sibling Love

My friend who drives for Uber once picked up three Brazilians: two girls and one guy. He said all three of them were attractive. One of the girls started making out with the guy. It seemed normal...until it wasn't. This is where the story takes a turn. The other girl in the car (the one not sucking face) told my friend that the two people making out were twins...brother and sister.

She explained that they did that whenever they got tipsy together. My friend said it was the purest form of narcissism he's ever witnessed.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

42. Quite A Fight

The driver picked up a couple and they had a fight in the car. The guy asked the driver to stop the car and he walked a few extra blocks to his home to get away from her, even though they had both planned on getting out at the same place. The girl then asked the driver to go to her sister's apartment first, then drive back to the guy's apartment.

The driver did as he was asked since a fare is a fare, but since the girl was tipsy she started opening up a bit and revealed that she was going to her sister's place to pick up a freaking pistol. The driver dropped her off but refused to drive her back to the boyfriend's apartment.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

43. Rumor Has It

I work for a small-ish taxi company. We have a contract with schools in the area to transport seniors to this graduate program so they won't drop out. They were usually badly behaved kids. Anyway, I was assigned to this one kid in his sophomore year. I heard some messed up things from other students about him—apparently, he got intimate with a guy in public, did stuff with a dog, so on.

I tried not to believe those rumors until I heard them from the kid directly. I felt he was owed the benefit of the doubt. Then, one year, he started being more confident around me. He told me some dark things, and while they didn't confirm the rumors, they did confirm that he was a messed-up kid. He admitted to stealing college money, taking advantage of a girl a few years prior (turns out, he wasn't gay, but still a predator), and getting into some pretty heavy substance use.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

44. Let It Out

On my first night driving for Uber and Lyft, I picked up a dude at 2:30 am. He was finishing up a pub crawl dressed in a purple dinosaur onesie and he was HAMMERED. He got in and started telling me his entire life story, from how he came out to his parents to how he moved across the country. He told me he had never revealed those things to anyone before.

Taxi overheardWikimedia.Commons

45. On The Downlow

I picked up two dudes. They were talking about how they were going to keep hiding their relationship from their wives and children. Pretty messed up stuff.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

46. The Snitch

I got in a taxi around 15 years ago with my best mate and we were so tipsy. We were having a laugh with the driver and we told him so many secrets: who we were dating, the mischief we'd got up to in the clubs, the stuff we did at work, etc. Nothing bad, just silly 18-year-old shenanigans. The driver was so chatty and kept encouraging us. We had no clue what was happening until it was too late.

When we got out of his car and paid him, he was like: "Do you know so and so?" Eh, yeah we did. We worked with this woman, and it turned out, she was his sister. He told her everything! We were mortified. I never told a taxi driver another secret again.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

47. Saving The Boss

I drove two medical professionals once. One of them talked to his colleague about a time when he was "kindly kidnapped" out of the hospital by two guys. They took him to a mansion outside the city and asked him to examine the heart condition of a man who seemed to be a local mafia boss. They somehow provided him with all the tools he needed and made him operate the boss.

When they finally let him go, they paid him with a big sum of cash, saying they would contact him again if they required him for anything else. He said it was one of the scariest yet most interesting experiences in his life.

Taxi overheardPexels

48. Psycho In The Seat

A passenger basically showed me the apartment where his wife was cheating on him. He then proceeded to explain how he was going to end her with a .44 magnum pistol. "Do you know what a .44 magnum pistol does to a woman's face?" he asked me. That's when I started to get really creeped out. He told me that he knew that I must think that he was really sick and started laughing.

Taxi overheardShutterstock

49. Grave Digger

A woman was in my backseat crying on the phone to her brother about her addicted daughter. From what I could hear, she was on her way home because her daughter had thrown their family safe down a flight of stairs in an attempt to open it and take the money inside it. But that's not even the worst part—her daughter had also stolen her grandmother's diamond bracelet...from her coffin.

Taxi overheardPexels

Source: ,


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