this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2026
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Today I Learned

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[–] TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.ca 28 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

It is currently only available to users of its luxury Uber Black services, costing the passenger extra.

Leave it to venture capital to try to make profits off people wanting their driver to shut up.

Uber has been rising their prices enough that now they are nearly at price parity with taxi cabs which, at least around where I live, are notorious for price gouging.

Currently passengers can use the app to rate conversational skills, so a driver wishing to increase his score may deliberately try to make small talk.

That sounds bloody awful.

[–] cenotaph@piefed.zip 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If cabs were willing to give me accurate estimates on cost of trip I would use them way more. Sitting in the cab watching the meter tick up stresses me out

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 4 points 2 days ago

our local taxi can tell you flat rates on the phone and uses this american taxi dispatch app that I think is not just local.

[–] TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago

Check if any of your local cab companies has a trip calculator. A few of the ones near me do and they are quite handy for doing price comparisons with Uber/Lyft.

Uber has been rising their prices enough that now they are nearly at price parity with taxi cabs

Uber has long exceeded taxis everywhere I live. In Vegas we got a "party van" for less than half the price of an expedition.

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

We take a cab home from the airport every time. It's never more than $8-10 USD more and they have an App called: Curb. So, seeing pricing and paying via the app is just as easy as any ride share.

There's a version with talking drivers?!
Greetings from Finland.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

That's usually how it goes for me. I greet them, they confirm where I'm going, and then complete silence as it should be. I love it.

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

My mom is a hairdresser and their booking app has option for silent service as well.

I love when I encounter a barber who picks up on this for me.

I try not to be rude and converse back if they talk, and I’ve had some legit good conversations with some barbers, but I so enjoy the quiet when getting my hair cut and enjoying it like a massage.

[–] nikolasdimi@lemmy.world -3 points 2 days ago (3 children)

thats super sad....I dont have a problem with someone not wanting chit chat but isnt better to just say "hey, today I am not in much mood to talk" or to show it and to make it happen without explicitly selecting it in an app.....

its just very black mirror esque

[–] PoastRotato@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I would imagine the type of person who wants to avoid chit chat during a transaction is often the same type of person who would feel anxious about seeming rude if they outright said "I'm not in the mood for chit chat, please don't talk to me."

Being that exact type of person, this option seems like a godsend to me, and no more "black mirror-esque" than selecting "leave at the door" when ordering food delivery.

[–] TheDoctorDonna@piefed.ca 6 points 2 days ago

I need to get my hair done but I'm too anxious to be confrontational in almost any way so I usually have to awkwardly nod and agree during the appointment because I'm also too anxious for conversation. Being able to make that choice without having to feel like I'm an asshole would help.

[–] scintilla@crust.piefed.social 4 points 2 days ago

Nah I get it. Hairdressers (in my personal experience at least) have always seemed weirdly offended when I said I have said something similar.

Gee, it's almost like they deliberately set their prices too low at the start to bankrupt the competition, then they jack up the prices. Tale as old as time.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Wait, there are people who don't like silent drives?

To be honest, I'm never sure why the driver wants to talk so much. I guess if they were a passenger, maybe they don't want silent drives either.

[–] 200ok@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

My guess is that when Uber first launched, that's how drivers differentiated themselves and got good ratings/tips for being seen as more "friendly".

[–] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I've not used Uber much but in Taxis the taxi driver doesn't talk to you as long as you don't start the conversation, or perhaps it's just me being and looking like foreigner everywhere I go.

[–] nikolasdimi@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

so there could be an option "select a texan taxi driver" irrespective of where you are in the world

[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Fuck Uber. Use local taxis.

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You need to go 4 miles? That'll be $38. Rush hour traffic fee an extra $1.50 per minute. Oops, I turned down a road with construction and just one lane; too bad the wet tarmac on either side traps you in here. Your total is $68.30. Cash only. ATM stops an extra $25 for up to a sixty-second stop, then $5 each 30 second wait.

(there's a reason why nobody uses taxis anymore)

[–] Janx@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

It's okay if you prefer summoning a ride from your phone, you don't have to make up strawman arguments against it, lol. Don't pretend like Uber/Lyft doesn't have Surge and airport pricing! And "cash only"!? I was paying via card literally 20 years ago...

[–] CluckN@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Local taxis need to step up their game.

[–] Beacon@fedia.io 3 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Can i select "only talk to me if you have interesting things to say"?

I've had some enjoyable convos with drivers, but I've also been stuck in conversations about the weather or other banal topics.

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Just need to spice up the conversation.

Me: "so what is your stance: knotted canine cocks, or barbed felines? Because for me I love a big bulbous knot, but a big kitty that knows how to work it can make me leave claw marks on the bed frame"

Driver: accelerating at full-throttle to make this trip end as fast as possible

Me: "but the sweet spot is hybrids, I mean why settle for one when you can have both, y'know?"

Driver: bails out of the car

Me: "hehehe, works every time"

[–] wjrii@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I don't know what kind of vibe I'm giving off, but I always seem to get the "Deepstate, amiright?!" drivers. Okay, that's a lie... I do know my vibe... I live in a Texas suburb and I'm a cishet white guy who wears cargo shorts and dadcaps and likes sports.

I hate it, but still, this person is taking me somewhere I need to be so I want to be nice, but I can't quite bring myself to pretend to agree. Unfortunately, a polite "Oh, I'm not sure I'm sold on that" just gets them helpfully trying to probe, "so why would Kamala do a pizzagate if she weren't a lizard person?"

Fuck me, I need some tattoos.

[–] Beacon@fedia.io 3 points 2 days ago

Maybe you can try a slightly firmer disagreement statement immediately followed by a change of topic before he can respond. Like driver: "Deepstate, amiright?!" You: "Nah, that's not the reality of the situation, but on the other hand deep dish pizza is something i can really get behind. Do you like deep dish pizza?"

[–] elvith@feddit.org 1 points 2 days ago

Id love that, but... Define interesting so that this option fits for everyone. Because, yes - talking about the weather is usually just filler content, talking about local sports and their performance clubs may be somewhere in the range of a enjoyable engaged conversation to uninteresting filler content.

[–] Janx@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

Headphones, or tell your driver you're not in the mood to talk. There, I just saved you money vs paying for Uber's "Premium" features...

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

Funny. Caught an episode of martial law where samo drives a guys taxi and one of the things he encounters is people expecting him to talk when he was not and then he tries talking regularly and people not wanting him to. Seems like its good all around for it to be determined ahead of time. Personally im the type that can go either way unless im like traveling for work or something else and need to concentrate on something while traveling.

This is what actually tired me more than driving when I did Uber for a while. I felt exhausted from socializing but probably more so because it was the same conversation each time “how did you start, when did you start, do you do anything besides Uber…”. Ironically my first passenger was probably the most enjoyable conversation I had while doing Uber and we drove over 70 miles to her destination talking the entire way.

Getting an Uber driver/passenger who didn’t want to talk was always the best for me. Not trying to be rude, but I enjoy driving in quiet more times than not, even when alone, I don’t always listen to music or anything on my radio. I don’t get why some people can’t seem to enjoy silence and constantly need some sort of artificial background noise.

The wear and tear on my car and the expensive trips are why I don’t drive or take Ubers anymore. I pulled up the app a few weeks ago to get a lift to somewhere 5 miles away and the trip just getting there was like $20. Paying that much in gas could get me well over 100 miles even in my area where gas is insane.

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I once had an Uber driver who didn't say a word to me even when I spoke to her. Fkn rude.

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"honey some random just got into the backseat and wants to go to the sports bar"

"just don't acknowledge his presence and he will get out at the nearest stop"

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world -4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

First of all I'm a "she," secondly, the driver was definitely an Uber driver. Her license plate & vehicle description matched on my uber app notification and she had Uber logos all over her car and she knew where I was going without even asking me or talking to me. She was an Uber driver, and I was her passenger, mmkay?

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So defensive over a joke. Calm down a bit, mmkay? I can see you're about to pop a blood vessel from all the way over here...

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

I was grumpy for a few days because I hadn't had a good exercise workout session for a few days but I just got one, yay! Feeling better. Please laugh away all my stupid shitpost comments I make when I'm not feeling myself 😂