On The Lam: The Uber Experience

So today I drove to my parent's house and did a bit of ubering along the way. I had been online for about an hour. I didn't think I would get any pings before arriving at my folk's place, but I was 8 miles from my destination when I got ride request. As usual, I looked at the rating and then accepted the request. I looked at the name and the pickup location. Off the bat, after reading the name (Chopo), I knew I was in for an adventure.

When I drove up to the location, I made a quick assessment. It was a lovely home in nice neighborhood. I would estimate the value of the house to be around 250000USD. All this information is important to me because these passengers usually have some cash to throw around and leave large tips! Due to the name Chopo, I was expecting to pick up a male. Instead, a bubbly half dressed pale white female opens the front door and says, "Chopo?!" My response, Yeap!

She told me she would be back in a minute; she needed to get her cell phone. I told her, "No problem," and patiently waited for her. She hops in my car, and I hit the start button. She noticed that I had a novel in my car. I usually keep a novel for those 12 hour days that I have to make a $100+. We started talking about why I had a book in my car and how it's good when kids see you read.

I explained to her how I got into education and she thought I was the most fascinating person she'd ever met. I told her about my travels, and she said that she wished she could do the same thing. But she also kept repeating, "I can't get a passport." Eventually, I asked her why and her response was, "Dude, I just met you! I can't trust you." I didn't push her for information, but she did admit that she was a fugitive and wanted for drug charges. She was looking to get out of the country via illegal means.

I did explain to her that wasn't a good idea. Once you start that kind of lifestyle, you are on the run until they catch you. And eventually, they will find you. I also recommend that she find a decent attorney that specialized in drug charges. From the sounds of it, she was a mule. Mules get raw deals if they can't give up any pertinent information to the DA about the local drug rings. And from what she told me, she had no new information to give to them. Which ultimately means she would get a raw deal and spend substantial time in jail.

We reached her destination, we said our goodbyes. I encouraged her to find an attorney and turn herself in. And I was right about the location, she left me a nice size tip with her stolen credit card.