Where do You Sit in an Uber?

Front Seat or Back?

The first time I picked up Andrew it was at the Uber headquarters on Market. In his late 20s he cuts the standard SF Techie profile: handsome (but not too much), optimistic, full of energy and always going someplace cool. You would expect Andrew to use Uber as his personal car service because that is the way the company advertises its services to customers. Uber adds say, "Your personal driver," or "Your ride, on demand." So when Andrew enters my Civic like it is a Towncar limo I'm not surprised that he sits in the back seat.

When I first started Uber driving, people sitting in the back seat was really weird. That is because Uber advertises to drivers differently than to its customers. To drivers Uber is advertised as a "ride sharing" business. Drivers "give rides" to people like they would give a ride to a friend. And believe me, none of my friends sit in the back seat when they catch a lift (not Lyft). So naturally, I expected people to ride in the front seat with me, at first.

Not everyone sits in the back seat. Many people sit in the front seat like a friend might even though we've never met. They are just friendly. It is hard to tell where a person will sit by their dress or ethnicity or age just as it is difficult to tell who will be friendly when your are waiting in line at the grocery store with only 1 item to buy. One general observation: I have far more women sit in the front seat than men. Are women more friendly than men? Do men get intimidated by my manliness? Is it a Venus/Mars thing? Let me know what you think. Where do you sit in an Uber?