'You want a free ride? Fine, I'll take you to Mexico': Ride-share driver gets back at passenger who canceled the ride mid-trip

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 1, 2024 11:00 AM EST

This ride-share passenger is going to be telling this wild story for the rest of her life. You would too, if your ride-share driver took you out of the country without your knowledge! 

Ride-sharing apps are popular all over the place, from cities to rural areas to tourist traps. It's the thing to do if you don't have a friend to drive you to work, or the ride you take home from a party at 2 AM to avoid going on public transportation. It's a little treat for most people, but not everyone views it that way.

In the first few years that ride-sharing apps became popular, there were a few glitches and hiccups in the system that hadn't been addressed yet. Around 2018, when this guy was driving for an app, customers were giddy over their discovery of a "life hack" of sorts. It turns out that if customers canceled their rides while in the car, they wouldn't have to pay for the ride at all. Is this good for the person driving the car and paying for the gas? No, no it is not. If the driver didn't notice, they could easily drive someone to their destination for free… and I'm sure that customer wasn't throwing in a tip, either. 

Next up, check out the most funny and awkward wedding days ever, like one diva bride who "invited all of her previous husbands because she enjoys drama." 

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  • 01
    'She canceled the ride and I could not drive her until she rebooked it'
    via Andrés Sanz on Unsplash
  • 02
    You want a Free Ride?...... Fine, I'll take you to Mexico
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 03
    In 2018, I lived in southern CA while I was finishing up graduate school. Uber was more popular than ever and given how spread out CA is in general was an easy side hustle to shuttle people back and forth. However, I only did it for a little while because I'm not really the most patient person and eventually got tired of people's BS and attitudes.
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 04
    One of the common tactics for customers looking to screw a driver was to "cancel" their rides in the middle of the trip to avoid paying the fare. They would often say how they did it "accidently" and then ask me if I could just "finish the trip since we were basically there anyway". This
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 05
    happened to me three times. The first two times, I pulled over and told them to get out of my car to which they complied (albeit they called me several names and threatened to kill me). The third time is the subject of this post.......
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 06
    It was about 430 in the afternoon on a Tuesday when I decided to log on and catch some fares. Most people go into the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are looking to get rides home between 4-5 pm to beat the traffic. At this point, I should mention that I was living in San Diego. If
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 07
    you know the area, you'd know that many people work in the city and live in the outer areas (Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Escondido, Pacific Beach) because its cheaper. The day of the event (oh yes it was an event lol), I picked up a middle aged girl who was a student at the local the community college
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 08
    downtown. Although she was in community college, I could tell she had money by the way she dressed and where she was going (La Jolla). She gets in my car and starts to make conversation with me. I am driving through town and as I am about to get on the highway I hear the
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 09
    cancellation ding. I pull over to a parking lot and let her know that she cancelled the ride and I could not drive her until she rebooked it. She gave me the "it was an accident" excuse. I told her not a problem and to just rebook the route. Well at this point, all those people I
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 10
    told you about earlier had just got off of work and we were in what I call the "Power Hour" of maximum surge pricing. La Jolla is like 25-40 minutes from downtown San Diego depending on traffic. I looked and the trip would have cost her $70. She told
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 11
    me that she wasn't going to pay that. I said fine and I asked that she exit my vehicle. SHE REFUSED and told me to take her home like I was her chauffeur. At this point, I was and wouldn't have done it even if she gave me $100 cash (I didn't really need the money). I asked her politely again. She refused. I had
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 12
    never really gotten to this point before. The other two people were guys and I would have had no qualms about yanking their out by force and them in the middle of the highway. However, that wouldn't have been a good look in this situation. I thought about going to the police given we were 3
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 13
    blocks from the headquarters but I wanted her to feel the burn. Que Malicous Compliance..... I asked her if she wanted a "free ride"......she suddenly perked up and said "I knew you'd come around, you are such a nice guy". I said buckle up and we got on Interstate 5. Here is the part where I tell you that San Diego is 16 miles from the
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 14
    Mexican border. I also keep my passport in my glove compartment because I did volunteer work in Rosarito every so often. We were about 4 minutes into the ride when she asked where we were going. I turned around and told her "I'm going to Tijuana and I'm glad you could join me. I hope you brought your
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 15
    passport". At first she didn't think I was serious but by Exit 4 she started to panic, I told her she was welcome to get out at anytime but she needed to make a decision soon because after we passed exit 1 there was no turning back. I also told her that I wasn't taking her back. Well she got the
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 16
    message and pleaded for me to pull over. I pulled over and dropped her off at the outlet mall in San Ysidro at the border. Just for and giggles I checked the Uber rate from the mall to La Jolla and the cheapest rate was $87 for a pool ride.
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 17
    I didn't make any money that night but that was the richest experience I had while being a rideshare driver. I stopped about 1 month later and sold my car.
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 18
    EDIT: For those concerned that I was going to "kidnap" this chick.....I communicated with both Uber support and a few of my friends to let them know she would not get out my car after being asked repeatedly prior to driving towards the border. I covered my bases.
    via u/smkAce0921
  • 19
    [deleted] Hahaha holy What lawful evil. Don't want to pay? I'm taking you to a different COUNTRY
    via u/[deleted]
  • 20
    bjandrus As an Uber driver, I hope you reported those riders to Uber. That way they can't pull that on anyone else...
    via u/bjandrus
  • 21
    DOLCICUS Well, here I was considering ride share for a summer job, ridesharing was a thought, but this kinda thing popped up alot doing research and I was like I'm probably losing money doing this.
    via u/DOLCICUS
  • 22
    pixiesunbelle. I would have just called the police, ol. I'd have been like, "your new Uber will be here soon".
    via u/pixiesunbelle
  • 23
    Jamie_XXX. You know she's gonna go tell ppl she was kidnapped by an Uber driver and the guy tried to take her to Mexico to sell her. She'll be all "I barely escaped w my life!" Lolol
    via u/Jamie_XXX

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