Is it customary to sit in the back seat when using Uber?

[Sunny]

I always sit in the back seat in an Uber, I thought you're supposed to. All my life, taxi passengers have ridden in the back seat. Why would this be different?

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I’ve never used Uber but have driven in taxi and always sat in the backseat. I think it would be weird using the front seat. Too close for comfort. I’m a paying customer not a friend or acquaintance.

 

[spectratg]

"Same as with taxis, and I think that it is also a safety concern." quoting myself.

I was talking about physical safety in case of a crash. In many (all?) U.S. states, after a child "graduates" from a car seat, she or he must sit in the back seat until they reach a certain age (maybe 12 in some cases, trying to remember what it has been for my grandkids), with seat belts on of course, because passengers in the back seat are less likely to be injured in a car accident. I suppose those of you who reference the safety of the passenger relative to the driver, and vice versa, also have a point.

 

[MarciKS]

It's for security reasons but some of them don't care and will let you sit up front. I always open the front door and ask where they want me to sit.

*edited typo

 

[Time Waits 4 No Man]

Is it customary to sit in the back seat when using Uber?​

It is when riding inside a Johnny Cab...

 

[jimintoronto]

Back in the 80's I owned a Taxi cab in one of the cities outside of Toronto in Vaughan Township. My rule was everybody sits in the rear seat, and this car isn't going anywhere until the passengers are wearing their seat belts. No smoking in my cab. You are hiring the car, but not my lungs.

My vehicle was a Dodge passenger van that could hold 6 passengers, with 2 rows of bench seats. The taxi company that I was contracted with had a contract with CN railway, to transport railway operating crews from Toronto to far distant crew change areas all over Ontario. Some of those runs were 4 or 5 hours in duration to the destination, and then the drive back to the city. A run like that paid me $450. JIMB>

 

[hollydolly]

For a little while as a side hustle in Spain I drove a Cab, and I never felt comfortable if people got in the front seat....

 

[debodun]

I don't see how it's safer to have a passenger in the back set. That way they could pull a gun or knife and hold it to the driver. In front, a passenger's movements can me monitored.

 

[oldman]

I can only remember using an Uber once. We had just left the Boeing 767, which is a two-aisle plane and a first class section, so we had two pilots and seven flight attendants onboard. In this case, we had to go to our hotel in Miami and our hotel van was broken, so they told us to grab a cab or an Uber and they would reimburse us (me).

I called Uber and explained our situation. We had nine people with each person having two bags. They sent us three cars, but they were SUV’s. Three people and bags to each vehicle. I went in the last SUV, but I had three bags. It was a small SUV, but we were able to jam everything in. We only went about two miles to the hotel. The driver offered me a seat upfront and I took it.

 

[jimintoronto]

I don't see how it's safer to have a passenger in the back set. That way they could pull a gun or knife and hold it to the driver. In front, a passenger's movements can me monitored.

Many taxis in the USA have a plexiglass divider between the front and rear seats. I guess living in a tiny little town, you don't know about such things. JIMB>

 

[hollydolly]

Many taxis in the USA have a plexiglass divider between the front and rear seats. I guess living in a tiny little town, you don't know about such things. JIMB>

here in the uk the Cabs with plexi glass dividing the back from the driver are hackney Cabs..these..

Hackney Cabs are very large inside...

a typical Uber is like an ordinary car...some are electric..... there's no plexi glass between the driver and the back seat passengers

 

[hollydolly]

When I go to collect my car from the garage tomorrow I'll take an Uber...so I'll try and remember to ask the driver if he prefers people to sit in the back

 

[debodun]

The garage actually paid for my Uber from and back, so I didn't cost me anything, just the $2100 repair fee.

It just seem s natural for me to get in front. The first driver was a woman and we had a nice chat about things and I mentioned the community sale. She asked if I had any counter chairs. I didn't know what she meant, but I was sure I didn't have any, but she seemed interested in a pedestal table I had when I showed it to her when she dropped me at home. She said she was going to get some money and come back. That was a week ago.

The second driver was male and he opened the back door for me which was an indication of where he wanted me. We didn't say a word to each other the whole trip. Only when I got out I wished him a pleasant day.

 

[hollydolly]

The garage actually paid for my Uber from and back, so I didn't cost me anyhing, just the $2100 repair fee.

lol...I like the way you casually say ''just the $2100 repair fee''...

 

[January]

The other Aussies have confirmed what I said about Australian norm being to sit i n the front of taxis - further to that, although I dont often catch taxis - I have never seen one here with a divider between front and back seats

 

[VaughanJB]

Interesting. I sit in the back. It's a service, and I shouldn't be up there with the driver. IMO YMMV