Driving Lyft passengers around for a living must be an eye-opening experience, which is why one grandmother has laid out a set of rules for anyone getting into her vehicle—and they cover just about everything.
An image posted on Reddit by user u/joyisnotdead shows the six “rules to ride” from the Lyft driver, a great-grandmother who refuses to tolerate any misbehavior in the back of her car. The guidelines for passengers include “no smoking,” no touching or swearing around her parrot, “no spraying perfume, doing your hair and makeup,” and “no eating or drinking” in the car.
Seeing the rules pinned up in the car came as quite a surprise to u/joyisnotdead, who can “see it from both sides.” The poster understands why the great-grandmother doesn’t want anything untoward going on in her car, but the rules could be seen as off-putting to anyone climbing into the back seat.
“Anyone who works with people in this age understands and empathizes with those who encounter entitled customers, especially as she’s a great-grandparent,” u/joyisnotdead told Newsweek. “However, I would be uncomfortable if I got into a car and saw a list of rules, no matter how reasonable.”
Newsweek has reached out to Lyft via email for comment.
u/joyisnotdead / Reddit
Lyft is a U.S. company that provides passengers with transportation at the click of a button, and since it was founded in 2012 it has grown in popularity. It offers standard rides for up to four passengers, priority pickups and XL vehicles. The company has even branched out to accommodate all kinds of journeys, including scooters and bikes that can be rented, wheelchair-accessible vehicles and child-friendly rides with a car seat.
While Uber may have a greater share of the ride-sharing market, accounting for 74 percent in September 2023, Lyft has the remaining 26 percent, according to Statista. It predicts that the popularity of businesses such as these will expand the ride-sharing market beyond $226 billion in the coming years.
How Did Social Media React?
At the beginning of her list, the grandma says her grandchildren and great-grandchildren all ride in the car, so she implored people to “be considerate of that.” If anyone is considering doing something reckless or dangerous, the post says, “I don’t carry money or real jewels. If you carjack me, wreck it good. I want a new one!”
Since the picture of the list was shared on Reddit in December, it has received more than 23,800 votes and 1,500 comments so far. Many social media users were astounded by the tone of the strict rules, but others felt they were perfectly normal and shouldn’t even need to be spelled out to begin with.
The Redditor said: “I think the rules have been very controversial. The reactions have been extremely mixed, with some people saying they are reasonable because of the things drivers have to deal with and others saying they’d never get in the car.”
The wide-ranging responses have come as a huge surprise to u/joyisnotdead, who was not expecting the post to generate as much attention as it has. Among the thousands of comments, one person wrote: “None of these are unreasonable requests, but at the same time I’m not the guy it’s aimed at.”
Another comment reads: “Honestly, all pretty reasonable things that shouldn’t have to be spelled out. I get the feeling this is like version 6 of the rules.”
But one person didn’t agree quite so much, writing: “You can’t even do your makeup? How would you touching up your lipstick affect the next passenger or even the driver.”
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.