DALLAS — Local Uber driver Gary Anderson issued a stark clarification that only he is allowed to vomit in his car during rides, confirmed clearly intoxicated sources.
“When you’ve been an Uber driver as long as I have, you can spot which riders are gonna be a problem the moment they pour themselves into your Nissan. So, I tell them: ‘Hey. I’m gonna get you where you’re going. Promise. But if anybody’s gonna be barfing in here on the drive, it’s gonna be me, capisce?’” said Anderson before noting that he used to be more lax about who could and couldn’t vomit in his car, even going so far as to offer clearly drunk riders barf bags. “Of course, I don’t puke on every drive—that would be gross. But sometimes I throw up. That’s my right. It’s my car. If I were in their car, of course, I’d only hurl if I had their blessing. We’ve all got to go along to get along.”
Anderson’s riders were quite perplexed by the unusual protocol.
“Look, I get it, every Uber has rules, but I’d never encountered this one before,” noted an inebriated Samantha Byers while focusing intently on a specific spot in the car with her window down to avoid breaking Anderson’s rule. “I’m sure any driver’s gonna lay down the law to keep their workplace how they like it. But even then, usually, that law limits you to zero vomit in a car, regardless of whose mouth it’s coming out of.”
While Uber’s corporate policies don’t explicitly ban drivers from enforcing the kind of driver-only vomit rule Anderson maintains, they do encourage drivers to keep their vehicles tidy.
“Every one of our contracted drivers is expected to be respectful to their passengers,” explained Nika Cowalick, Uber’s People Lead. “So, while Mr. Anderson’s rule is odd, his 4.5 star driver rating can’t really be argued with. A number of riders cite his generous ‘burping policy’ in their reviews which, whatever that is—why would he need to outline it?”
At press time, Anderson was seen safely dropping Byers and her friends off, then treating himself to a few dry-heaves before leaving to pick up his next riders.
