Riding Solo

NPR-San Francisco Affiliate, KQED Radio Perspectives Series 

Holly Hubbard Preston shares about her experiences with rideshare drivers.

By now most of my Bay Area friends have ridden in a driverless car. I’m the holdout. It’s not the autonomous driving technology that makes me uneasy. What’s not to like about being driven around by a machine that is never drunk, tired or distracted?

But as someone who’s met some unforgettable cabbies and rideshare drivers, I’m not so eager to ride solo.
I’m thinking of the driver who told me about growing up poor and how his mother once made him “Frog Soup” from the contents of his toy beanbag. 

And the Bosnian father, who fled genocide to start over in America, where he holds down multiple jobs, including driving, to support his family. I’m remembering, too, the poignant irony of hearing my Jamaican Lyft driver talk about her family’s struggles following Hurricane Melissa on a snowy night in a resort town this past winter. 

More than just transport, these rides teach me things I might not otherwise know — for instance why some DJs like my part -time driver, Bucky, in LA, prefer vinyl records over digital recordings.

So many special conversations that wouldn’t have taken place had I been in a cab alone. Of course, not every ride has gone well. I’ve encountered creeps and bad drivers, for sure. But mostly I’ve met goodness and grace—like when I dropped one of my kids at college and the driver, a mom like me, noticed my tears and handed me her tissue box.

There’s mounting science to show that talking to strangers is good for us — that it improves our health and social skills while building community. As we exchange unpredictable man for programmed machine, what if the true cost of that quiet drive is being more alone, with an opportunity for human connection – lost.

With a Perspective, I’m Holly Hubbard Preston.

Originally published by KQED.
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Bottom photo credit ID 307188898 ©Diana Vyshniakova | Dreamstime.com