Read incredible stories from drivers who have gone above and beyond whilst out on the road. From helping a passenger when a baby arrived a little earlier than planned, to providing life saving support to a passenger in distress– incredible acts of kindness and bravery happen each and every day.
Ariful’s story
“I straight away realised she was in labour… all that mattered was her doing what she needed to.”
- Read Ariful's story
"I was coming home and got a trip around 2.30am going in that direction. I arrived at the pick-up point and it was a lady with a bit of luggage, accompanied by her husband and Mum. A few moments into the ride, the lady started screaming and immediately, I realised she was in labour. The road she lived on had a dead end, so I ended up wasting valuable time here as the road was tight and needed to turn back around."
Think Fast
I double-checked the destination and saw it was Homerton Hospital. It wasn’t too far from where we were, but I remembered that there were a few road closures, which would have slowed us down drastically. She was in so much pain, and I just wanted to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. At the same time, I had to be responsible because there were road works, so there would have been roads that weren’t that smooth, and there was a 20mph speed camera too. Those few seconds in that part of the road felt like a million years.
The Baby’s Coming
I got close to the hospital but the lady was still screaming - I felt so helpless. All I could think of was the pain my wife was in when she was in labour, and I just wanted to help. Her family were telling her to stay calm and not to push yet, but she couldn’t hold it in and began to shout, “The baby’s out!”. At this point, I didn’t care about not being at the hospital, I didn't care about the mess in the car, all that mattered was her doing what she needed to. I finally got to the hospital and parked right up front, as close as I could. I ran in and asked for security and the midwives to come and help the woman and her newborn baby. I spoke with security to let them know what the situation was and they understood as they could see it all on camera. After, I checked with the husband to see if there was anything else they needed or if they’d forgotten something in the rush at home and needed to go back to get it. Luckily he had everything, so I checked that everything was okay and then left.
The Human Point of View
To celebrate their newborn, I wrote an email to the Uber team explaining what happened, asking them to refund the customer’s journey. I also asked them to waive the car cleaning fee because, honestly, what’s a bit of mess compared to a new life? In this world, everyone’s after money - me too. But there are certain situations where I think you have to look at things from a human point of view, rather than financial."
Rezaul’s story
“I work around my family’s routine, they’re the main priority.”
“Doing everything on time is definitely the hardest part. I don’t ever want to be late for my children.”
- Read Rezaul's story
Down Small I’ve been driving in Cardiff for just over 2 years. I was going through some hard times before I became a partner-driver, and I can honestly say that decision has had a positive impact on my life.
Household Hero
My family relies on me, and I always have to deliver. I feel the pressure sometimes, as I look after my four children and my elderly mother, but the flexibility of when I work has been really helpful. there may be times like around Summer and Christmas time when I have to be around to spend time with my children, but still have the ability to work in my spare time. Whenever I’m working I ask my family not to call me, but if they do, I clear my jobs and go home to see how things are, because I know it must be important.
The Weekday Routine
My usual routine goes as follows: get up around 6.30/7am, get ready, get my children ready for school, make breakfast for the children, drop one child off at one school for 8.15, another two at 8.30am at a different school, then I come back home and make breakfast for my mum. Afterwards, I drop my daughter off at college, and then work a few hours or go back to sleep. It’s usually busier in the evenings, so I tend to save my energy for then. Then I pick up the children from school at 3.15pm and 3.30pm from the other school, head home so they can eat before Arabic lessons at the Mosque which begin at 4.45pm. From there, I head over to pick my daughter up from college and bring her home, before sitting down with a cup of tea. Soon after, I go back to pick up the children from mosque at 6.30pm. Then off to work.
Flexibility is the secret
I have to maintain it everyday to be able to keep everything going, but thanks to the flexibility of my job, I’ve been able to do it all and a bit more. As of recently, I graduated from University with a degree in Business Management. It was a special moment for me.
Martin’s story
“Since cancer is the thing that took my grandmother, mother and wife’s mother…why not donate the tips to Action Cancer”
- Read Martin's story
Down Small I’m a Foster Carer, which means I have to be fairly flexible, so within my spare time I decided being a partner-driver would be a good idea, and I’ve been doing so for just over 2 years in Belfast.
Making Donations Fun
Within the first few weeks as a driver, what I found happening was that people were leaving coins in the central console of my car as a tip, and I didn’t understand since it’s all meant to be cashless. By the end of the first week there was £4 or £5, and I thought I’d see how many tips came in and then donate it to charity at the end of the month.
I decided to add a bit of fun to it and bring [Uber] ratings into it; for example, if I was awarded 5-stars I’d add 10p to the tip, a [Compliments] badge was 20p, and a written comment was 30p. At the end of the first month there was about £50 and so I thought, cancer was the thing that took my grandmother, mother and wife’s mother, why not donate it to Action Cancer - a local cancer charity. I went in, filled in a form, and donated it, and it felt good. After that, I made a spreadsheet so that I could easily see how much was being raised at the end of each month. Then I made a little laminated print out to hang in the back of my car so riders could see that if they gave me a tip it was donated to charity, and if they gave a great rating that I’d donate.
Splitting Donations
I have a rescue dog at home and I tend to follow the work that Almost Home Animal Rescue Northern Ireland do, so after a year and a half I decided to start splitting tips between both Action Cancer and Almost Home. That seems to get a good reaction as well.
I update the sheet every month to show how much has been donated. As people are getting out they end up putting a pound or so in the pot, or end up leaving a tip on the app - one lady left a £15 tip. I like to do things differently with my car - I have sweets, water, charging cables, even a book full of bad jokes, whatever people might need.
Help Others Before Yourself
The charity thing has just grown and grown. Last year some of the ladies from Action Cancer came down to one of our Uber partner-driver coffee mornings, gave some information on the charity and then gave the drivers free health checks. To my surprise, they gave me a certificate because at that point I’d raised just over £1,000. So far, I’ve raised just over £2,000 split between both charities. t means a lot when people tip because, with the traditional cash drivers it was easy, people would just say, “keep the change”. Now, with everything being digital, people are making a conscious effort to give because they know it’s going to charity. It’s really kind.
Some drivers tell me I’m mad because I could have the money for myself, but I feel that when you have the mindset of helping yourself before helping others, it’s just a bit sad.
Kamran’s story
“For me, doing a good deed is more important than making money”
- Read Kamran's story
Down Small It was either Friday or Saturday night around 9/10pm in Solihull. I’d picked up a couple and we began our trip.
Lost Dog
A while into the journey, once we were out in the countryside, I noticed something in the bushes so I decided to park up. The couple asked what was wrong and I mentioned that I’d noticed what I believed to be a dog in the bushes by the road. After investigating, I realised I was right, we could all see a very small and very frightened dog.
To the Rescue
The wife got out of the car to pick up the dog. The collar mentioned that it was a deaf dog, so it would be even harder for it to find its way home. The wife kindly asked if she could bring the dog into the car and, naturally, I said ‘yes’. The husband asked if they could drive around and try to find the owner of the dog, but understood if I said no as it’d take up my time. However, I was more than happy to oblige and told them not to worry.
Searching the Countryside
It’s a countryside, so the houses were far apart from one another. After a while, the husband mentioned again that he didn’t want to take up any more of my time and even offered to pay for the time spent and missed journeys. But my response was the same, I told him not to worry, I felt doing a good deed was more important than making money. Eventually, we found the owner of the dog and the owners were so happy. They’d been looking for over an hour but couldn’t find the dog, and it was a busy night with cars speeding down the roads. I was so pleased.
Zuly’s story
“Her speech was somewhat slurred and unnatural”
“A moment later, she started having a seizure.”
- Read Zuly's story
Down Small I had been waiting for a while for a rider, and didn’t happen to see them at the pick-up location so I gave them a call to get directions. Whilst she was able to direct me, her speech was somewhat slurred and unnatural like she was either very drunk or, as I believe, had been spiked.
Spiked and Unresponsive
Once she was in the car and we’d commenced the trip I had a glance back in the rear-view mirror and she didn’t look too well, so I asked if she was alright and if she needed anything. She responded, but again her speech was very slurred. I continued to ask if she needed any water, or if I should pull over for some help but at this point she’d stop responding. A moment later, she started having a seizure. I pulled over immediately, got out and put her in a recovery position calling 999 in the process. The ambulance arrived and checked her out. Once the paramedics arrived I felt happy because it meant she was with the people who can help her get better. Before taking her away, they thanked me for calling as my assumptions were correct - she had been spiked.
Auto-Flight Mode
As a general thing, you just do things like that. I didn’t think anything of it. You’d just normally do that, it’s an act of humanity, nothing special. You’d expect anyone to do it.
In the moment, I felt like some sort of auto-flight mode kicked in, you know? It was terrifying because it’s your passenger, you’re responsible for them, but it all kind of happened automatically. I didn’t really have to think about it. I was still concerned later that night, so after my shift I emailed to check on the situation and whether the young lady was alright, but obviously for privacy reasons, they couldn’t give me any more information. It was definitely playing on my mind, I kept hoping she was okay. Like I said at the moment it happened it felt like she was under my responsibility, from pick-up to drop-off, it’s my responsibility. So if anything happens between then, it’s going to worry me.
Frank’s story
“It made sense to try and help the underprivileged youths through football”
“If I have the money, why wouldn’t I help?”
- Read Frank's story
Down Small My story begins in 2010 in Ghana. One of the MPs for the Asuogyaman district, in the eastern region of Ghana, had a chat with me and said, “we have to do something about the youths” in the local community. The youths were living on the streets with parents who weren’t able to support them, some of them come from homes where they’re not even getting a meal a day. So we felt it was our duty to help change their circumstances.
Akosombo United FC
The MP invited me down to Parliament for a chat, he knew that I did well as an athlete in school, and went on to play semi-professional football back for Tooting & Mitcham in the late 80s. During my time, I also received a coaching badge from Millwall Football club - so he suggested I put that to good use, this is when the idea began to take form. Now, Ghana being a nation of football, it made sense to try and help the underprivileged youths through football and that’s when Akosombo United FC started.
They train twice a day and play in the second division in Ghana. We’ve had scouts come down and have a look. There was a scout from Holland who selected five boys to go and have trials, but unfortunately we were unable to obtain visas. We’ve since had many agents come to the club to sort out trials, but whenever the opportunity arises, we don’t have the funding to be able to support the boys through the process.
Moving Forward
The first couple of years weren’t easy, as I was paying for it out of my own pocket. I had to work two jobs to help keep it up, nevertheless it’s been a great experience. Every penny I make from being a partner-driver gets sent back to Ghana. At the end of every week I send back £200 minimum. Luckily my wife supports me, but sometimes it’s hard for us because we’re still here trying to make ends meet. From just my wife and I, we’ve spent over £70,000 in the past nine years, then another £25,000 from fundraising. This has allowed me to secure rented accommodation where some of the boys can stay. The bills do add up however, as we have to pay rent and bills, feed the boys, buy provisions and equipment.
The football side of things continues to progress, but we’d like to begin teaching the guys other skills and subjects to help them with the future so that, if football doesn’t work out, they still have something to fall back on. We want to teach them computer literacy and a couple of other subjects like Maths. The end goal is to build a football academy with a school attached to it. We’ve already found teachers, but without the funds to be able to pay them for at least a year there isn’t anything we can do.
Why Wouldn’t I Help?
I have a personal attachment to the team. I’m a practicing Christian so I always want to help where I can. But aside from that, I’m from Ghana but I’m a British Citizen. Here, everything is available to you - good and free education, a support system that helps fund and feed those less fortunate, free courses run by Job Centres, you can really have a secure life. Meanwhile, in Ghana, none of this exists. There are youths on the street, everyone is hanging around doing nothing, or doing crime because they have no choice. It doesn’t feel right to me to be here, enjoying all of this, whilst there are people suffering, children suffering. With that said, it’s not like everything is easy for me. I could have built a house in Ghana by now! But, I want to do the right thing. If I have the money, why wouldn’t I help?
Jinu’s story
“She was screaming out very loud and her body was convulsing.”
“It was still scary because I didn’t know how to help”
- Read Jinu's story
Down Small I picked up a rider and halfway through the trip she began having a seizure. She began screaming very loudly and her body was convulsing. I immediately parked up so that I could call an ambulance, but the moment I did, I thought she was about to attack me because of how erratic her movements were. For her own safety, I kept her in the car so that she wouldn’t hurt herself whilst we waited for the ambulance.
Shocking Experience
It was quite a shocking experience, even though I’d seen people having epileptic fits before, it was still scary because I didn’t know how to help. As their driver, I feel as though all riders are under my care until we reach the destination, so I just feel like I need to do the best I can to help in any given situation.
Felt Like a Hero
In all honesty, afterwards I felt like a hero, you know? I helped someone, it’s a good feeling, and it’s always good to help people. It’s something I think anyone would do, if you see someone in trouble, you should try to help. Since then, I’d say I’m a bit more aware to a riders body language and the way they are acting and reacting to things.
Musa’s story
“I felt completely helpless knowing there was nothing I could do to get her out of this situation.”
- Read Musa's story
Down Small It was about 6/7pm on a weekday and the pick-up was in Norwood Junction. The job said it’d take an hour as the place was out of London, a little town next to Hastings. The rider who requested the trip was a male, but the person who turned up was a female who looked quite young, I was confused. I asked her age and she said she was 16.
Dissecting The Situation
As we continued to have a conversation, I wanted to understand the situation more, as the guy who booked the ride was constantly calling her which made her feel uncomfortable, her demeanour was questionable. I probed to find out if she had family there and she claimed that her boyfriends’ family are there - more specifically her boyfriends cousins’ wife. I then asked if she was having a little break there for a few days, and she said that she would be coming back, hopefully tonight. At this point, the situation was making less sense to me and I began to grow concerned for her.
Shaken
She missed a couple of calls from the booker, so he then called my number, as it would have shown it in the app. I parked up and answered on loudspeaker. He sounded quite angry when I picked up and was asking where the passenger was and why she wasn’t answering his calls, and then asked to speak to her. She appeared shaken and asked him to call her back on her phone. He continued to ask what time we’d get to the destination and that when we arrived she should call him to let him know.
Suspicions and Support
As we turned into the road of the destination, I ask her what door number to take her to. She didn’t know, so she called the booker who told her to just get out of the car and wait for someone to come and get her. I advised her to wait in the car until the person came and she agreed, but she was hesitant and then she left the car. I drove down the long road and circled back up again, she was still standing on the street alone and I felt very worried for her. She was very young, and possibly naive so I called up Uber to try and report what could be some form of sex trafficking or prostitution ring and they told me to contact the police as it was serious.
When I called the police, they said that as she was over 16, legally she could do as she pleased, so there was nothing they could do about it. They said that what was happening to her wasn’t trafficking, if anything, it was most likely her pimp on the phone, but there’s still nothing they could do.
Trying To Do More
I used to be a youth advisor and I’ve worked with a lot of teenagers, and I know about the country lines that kids get caught up in, so I know the kind of behaviours to look out for. From my point of view, I was looking at a young lady with all the potential in the world, but she was in a situation where someone has control over her life and is dictating her future. It made me angry that there was someone taking advantage of her like this. I have kids of my own and I’d be so angry if they had to go through an experience like this.
Syed’s story
“The moment i got onto the M40, the mums breathing became very heavy”
“I realised that she could be having a heart attack.”
- Read Syed's story
Down Small I picked up a mother and daughter from Heathrow Airport one day. The moment I got onto the motorway, the mothers’ breathing became very heavy and I could sense something more was going on.
Sharp Pains, First Aid and Long Waiting Times
I parked up on the hard shoulder to see if she’d settled down but the mother couldn’t speak English too well so the daughter had to translate for her. She said that she was having sharp pains in her chest and, being first aid trained, I realised how serious the issue could be. Ultimately, she could’ve been having a heart attack so I immediately called the ambulance, but it was peak times, so it’d take them at least 40 minutes to reach us. Knowing how severe it could be, I began to panic.
Thinking Fast and Getting Help
I then called 111, explained the situation and asked them for the address to the nearest hospital to me which was Queen’s Hospital in Paddington. I checked how long the journey was and we’d get there much faster than the ambulance would get to us, so I quickly made my way there. Once there I parked on a double yellow line and took them straight to the emergency room with their luggage. Being tourists and not being able to speak english well, I knew they wouldn’t be able to fill out the forms at the hospital so I stayed with them and helped fill them out. Eventually, she was seen by someone and I was assured that she was in safe hands before I left.
I felt relieved that I did all I could and that she was with a team of people who could better help her.
I understand that when you have people going through a tough situation, you have to put yourselves in their shoes and think about what kind of help you’d want.
Zaid’s story
“She had blood on her, her make-up was a mess and her clothes were ripped and dirty”
- Read Zaid's story
Down Small It was a standard night. I was in Chelsea and I went to go pick up the rider from the corner of a street. It was a bit dark so I couldn’t see them clearly, but I could see that it was the rider and she had confirmed the ride destination.
Am I Bleeding?
As she confirmed the destination was Shoreditch, I could hear from her tone that she was quite shaken. I asked if she was okay to which she responded yes, but that was quickly followed by a questioned which startled me, “Am I bleeding?”. Turning on the lights within the car, I could see she had blood on her. Her make up was messed up and her clothes were ripped and dirty. Stunned, I asked what had happened and she said that she’d been run over by a car. But instead of going to the hospital, she asked me to continue on to Shoreditch to her friends’ house.
The Best Option
I suggested we go to the hospital instead as she could have internal bleeding or a fracture or worse. She insisted I take her to her friends’ house in Shoreditch instead. After a while, I managed to convince her that the hospital was the best option, and luckily we were close to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. I pulled up right to the front of the hospital so that I could get her in as fast as possible. We managed to jump the queue whilst inside, explaining that the lady needed immediate attention.
Helping People Seems To Be a Luxury
Once a nurse came out to see her, I knew that she was now safe so I made my leave. After I had left I felt relief and a bit of pride because I was able to help a fellow human. I called Uber to explain the incident and to get the journey fare refunded to the rider, as well as the car cleaning costs waived. It’s the humane thing to do. It was a natural reaction for me. I always try to put myself in the riders shoes and relate whatever happens to them back to myself - would I want to be treated like that? We all do our best to try and help other people. Nowadays, help from others seems like a luxury, especially when you live in a big city where everyone is just focused on themselves, but we need to learn how to help each other.
Attention To Detail
I’ve always been attentive in terms of who’s getting in the car, it’s how you can tell when a rider may be upset, or angry or whatever. But this incident has led me to be more attentive to details when someone gets in and has reminded me that being calm is always the best option when faced with difficult situations.
Alexander’s story
“Helping people will always be more important to me than making money”
- Read Alexander's story
Down Small It was a particularly cold New Years Eve, with pavements iced over as I picked up a couple in their 70s around Hazelway, Birmingham. I dropped the couple off and I remember the lady seemed quite drunk, but she seemed fine, so I thought nothing of it.
Health and Safety Advisor
As I was reversing my car to leave the road, I saw the lady fall backwards and hit her head on the pavement. It was a really rough pavement with bits sticking out, so blood was oozing out from the wound. Luckily, I’ve been first aid trained for over 16 years and I’m a Health and Safety Advisor, so I jumped straight into action.
I stopped the car, got out and immediately put the lady in a recovery position. I then rushed back to the car to collect my phone and earpiece, with some tissue in hand to help clean the wound and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. I had called the ambulance so I was speaking to them through my earpiece, whilst tending to the lady. I got the emergency blanket out from the back of my car to help keep her warm, and the husband went inside to get some more blankets to help make her more comfortable. Eventually the ambulance came and I informed them about what had happened.
Saving a Life Means More
It wasn’t until after everything had happened that I’d realised how many jobs I had missed, but either way, as a practicing Christian, helping people will always be more important to me than making money. Being able to help, potentially, save a life will always mean more than the bit of money I could have made.
I reflected on the situation once she left with the ambulance. It really dawned on me that she could have died considering how much blood she’d lost. I still wouldn’t let that stop me from helping save someone.
Muhammad’s story
“I was on a Pool trip with two solo riders when one of them mentioned that they felt sick.”
“I stayed with the passenger for two hours as the ambulance were busy that night.”
- Read Muhammad's story
Down Small It was around Christmas time. I was on an Uber Pool trip around Soho, where I picked up one lady and a guy further on. We got to around Camden and the guy said he felt sick. I told him that if that’s the case, I can pull over to let him out to vomit. The moment I pulled up he began to throw up in the car.
In The Road, Unconscious
He then opened the door and stumbled into the road, then fell over in the middle of the road. I got out of the car to help the guy and at this point, the other Pool rider got out and made her own way. A fellow partner-driver saw what had happened, and pulled up to help me move the guy to a safe place on the pavement. I called an ambulance, but they didn’t arrive for almost two hours, so I stayed with the passenger until they arrived. I had left my door open so that drivers could see it from far away and manoeuvre around the rider.
A Humane Response
At the time, I didn’t care about the mess in the car or about my time, all that was on my mind was that there’s someone in the middle of the road, unconscious, and a car could come and hit him. My main concern was making sure that he could go home. It’s a human response, you can’t just leave somebody alone like that. You have to take care of other people. Whether they were a rider or not, if I was in my car or just walking, I’d always help because I’d want someone to help me if roles were reversed.
I’ve Got Bags Now!
Once the ambulance came I felt relieved because it meant that they could make sure he’s safe and take him to the hospital if needed. The next day the rider called Uber to pass on his thanks and appreciation which really made me feel good.
Since then, if I have a rider that I think has had a bit too much to drink, I let them know that they don’t have to leave the car if they need to throw up. I’ve got bags now! So if they feel sick, I’d prefer they stay in the car and remain safe rather than go outside and possibly end up hurt.
I think what I enjoy most about driving in London is meeting new people, having new conversations in such a multicultural location, you always learn something new.
Posted by Uber UK
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