Rider Stories: In-Car Journal
Written by Edward Moran and James Lantos
Paul Revere was one heck of a driver, but it must have been lonely for him—he had no one riding sidesaddle with him on his solitary romp through the dirt roads and byways of colonial Boston. No one to kvetch about the tax on tea, or the Stamp Act, or the imminent invasion of redcoats.
Today’s Uber drivers have it far better. We may not be sounding alarms “the redcoats are coming,” but we sure have our share of colorful passengers who bend our ears as they temporarily occupy our back seats.
In my 5 years of rideshare driving I’ve ferried 8,000 folks to and from more than 200 towns in Massachusetts. I’m guessing that I might be one of the few, aside from the browncoats - UPS drivers - who have accomplished this since the time of Paul Revere. The road systems in 1775 were simple and not so populated. It wasn’t likely difficult for horsemen to ride all over the region. Today, roads and traffic have become so complex it is difficult to understand how to travel two towns over, let alone from Waltham to Webster. The advent of GPS in the past 10 years now allows us to travel complex routes.
Around the eighteenth of April (or so) in 2019, I embarked on a new project. A year before I had seen on the Web another Uber driver who kept a journal of riders writing their own stories. I thought about doing this too — for many months. Would it piss people off to ask them to contribute?
Finally, I took a leap of faith. I saw the light (a smartphone? one if by land?), and put an empty journal in the pocket of the back seat. I hoped for the best.
What happened next I could not have predicted.
When I told passengers about the journal, many simply grabbed it and started writing. As if they needed to tell a story. Or just wanted to be a part of the project.
If someone didn’t know what to say, I offered general criteria. People could write whatever they wanted. They could talk about hopes and dreams. Complain about a supervisor. Draw a picture. Tell a funny story. People who chose to write immediately already had something important they wanted to say. The process of encouraging them was magic at times.
I told each rider that I would publish their story on the blog. Each gave me permission to go forth. Many were mesmerized reading the stories of others. I often told tourists if they wanted to get to know Boston, they should read the journal. Some told me that they could not because of carsickness. But most were eager to read, and many to write.
I might have a conversation with a rider, but I wouldn’t know what they had written until I got home. Often, I was blown away with how personal they would get in telling a meaningful story. Or yakking away about their trip to Boston. There are lots of funny entries. Many are deeply personal. I was moved that people would share these with a stranger. There is an unspoken sense of trust that comes with these Uber rides.
Rider Recipe for Chicken Biryani
Recipes!
Some went a step further. To date, people have left over a dozen recipes . From all over the world! And in different languages. I told folks to write in whatever language they wanted—I would translate.
I’ve made one dish so far: Chinese fried rice. It came out great! I think making all of them for a Podcast would be fun.
As of December 2019, I’ve collected more than 170 stories. I’d like to publish them in a book. I will present a scan of the actual writing along with a text transcription. I think it would be a great keepsake for travelers—locals and visitors alike.
The goal for a crowdfunding project will be to raise money to spend a year publishing two books: the In-Car Journal as well as the rider restaurant picks. I would like to use excess funding to pay for the 1-2 years needed to write out all the other stories in the 100+ page outline of notes and stories. These would be freely available on the blog. A double return.
I’ve shown the journal to HUNDREDS of riders and everyone has expressed their support!
Thank you for sharing your stories and feedback! And for taking the time to read, give me feedback and encourage me on this project.
I’m bursting like beans to want to share this with Boston!
