Solo Travel: The Faith of an Uber Driver

One of the things that I love about solo travel is that it gives you the opportunity to meet and get to know people you normally would not meet or get to know.

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I sit in the front seat of every Uber I take to get to know the driver.

During my time in Austin, I have taken many Ubers and have met the most amazing people.

I met a man from South Africa who races motorcycles, a man from Iran who moved to the US for a better life for his family, a single mom of four who works three jobs to provide for her kids and all of her kids have straight A’s in school, the hippie equivalent of Santa Claus, a super nice lady who gave me a bunch of safety travel tips, and the list goes on.

If I create another podcast, I am probably going to interview Uber drivers. I am trusting you, people of the internet, with this idea. Do not steal it. :)

Today, (July 13th, 2019), I was ubering back to my apartment from a meeting, and I asked my driver, Javier, what his craziest experience as an Uber driver was.

I do not know what I was expecting to hear, but it was not this.

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Javier told me that last Christmas Eve he needed $50 to buy his son an Xbox.

He drove all night and never received a request for a ride.

Around 3:00 AM, he was driving around the city and crying out to God, “I will do anything! Please help me find a way to make $50 to get my son this Xbox.”

He said that he drove a little farther down the road and finally received a request for a ride. It was only a 5-minute ride. However, he said that a few dollars were better than nothing, so he accepted it.

He drove to the location and picked up an old couple on the side of the road. He said they were very well dressed, and he had no idea where they were coming from because there were no buildings around them.

When he dropped them off at their destination, the old man stopped him before he drove away.

The old man reached into his pocket, handed Javier some cash, and wished him Merry Christmas.

Javier looked at his hands and opened the bill.

It was not a $5, $10, or a $20 bill.

It was a $50 bill.

Javier said that he burst into tears, got out of his car, and hugged the man.

He turned off Uber for the night and went home.

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I had chills when he told me this story, and he said that he gets chills every time he tells it.

Travel Tip: Talk to the people in your day who often go unnoticed. Everyone has a story worth telling.