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Buzz Ride: Driven to Disruption: Memoirs of an Uber Driver
Why would a financially-comfortable fifty-something father of two--with a Mercedes--drive Uber late at night on the toughest streets of Chicago? Pat White (pseudonym), a financial advisor and business strategist, decided to go undercover to research how the disruptive technology of ridesharing affects commerce. Soon his business study warped into a study of humanity . . . and himself.
This reserved Baby Boomer first had to face his fear of picking up strangers in his own car and driving them to unknown locations. Most were over-privileged, over-served Millennials en route to their next adrenaline rush or wherever they were crashing for the night. Some treated him like he was invisible--making out, arguing, discussing sex and drugs, and lying to lovers on the phone about their whereabouts as if no one else were in the car. Others wished him to partake in their partying or craved his counsel on the most intimate details of their lives. Still others were just looking to pick a fight. Rarer were the tired and the those returning to family after working long hours with hopes of a brighter tomorrow, those fleeing abuse, and those just fleeing a thunderstorm.
This summer experiment took White down roads he never imagined he would travel. Soon he found himself embracing danger, longing for the thrill of voyeuristic glimpses into private lives made public, and facing the depths of his shadow personality.
Come along for the bumpy ride as this sharp-tongued observer shares the always wild, sometimes dark, often humorous, and surprisingly touching side of Chicago nightlife in the smart-phone generation.
Hop into the Back of Patrick's Silver Benz and Buckle Up!
This reserved Baby Boomer first had to face his fear of picking up strangers in his own car and driving them to unknown locations. Most were over-privileged, over-served Millennials en route to their next adrenaline rush or wherever they were crashing for the night. Some treated him like he was invisible--making out, arguing, discussing sex and drugs, and lying to lovers on the phone about their whereabouts as if no one else were in the car. Others wished him to partake in their partying or craved his counsel on the most intimate details of their lives. Still others were just looking to pick a fight. Rarer were the tired and the those returning to family after working long hours with hopes of a brighter tomorrow, those fleeing abuse, and those just fleeing a thunderstorm.
This summer experiment took White down roads he never imagined he would travel. Soon he found himself embracing danger, longing for the thrill of voyeuristic glimpses into private lives made public, and facing the depths of his shadow personality.
Come along for the bumpy ride as this sharp-tongued observer shares the always wild, sometimes dark, often humorous, and surprisingly touching side of Chicago nightlife in the smart-phone generation.
Hop into the Back of Patrick's Silver Benz and Buckle Up!
145 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 5, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A successful Baby Boomer becomes an uber driver, in order to write an article about the effects of disruptive technologies. After his first night, he decides to write a book about his experiences. This is the result.
The author is based in Chicago, and drives a Mercedes. The poor roads in Chi-town do a number on the Mercedes and the author's body, as he works for at least three hours a night for three months. He has various adventures, and experiences what he seems to think is some kind of mental illness, but is probably really just the result of not getting enough sleep.
Some interesting occurrences and observations make this worth reading.
A successful Baby Boomer becomes an uber driver, in order to write an article about the effects of disruptive technologies. After his first night, he decides to write a book about his experiences. This is the result.
The author is based in Chicago, and drives a Mercedes. The poor roads in Chi-town do a number on the Mercedes and the author's body, as he works for at least three hours a night for three months. He has various adventures, and experiences what he seems to think is some kind of mental illness, but is probably really just the result of not getting enough sleep.
Some interesting occurrences and observations make this worth reading.
September 16, 2017
Fascinating read! Anyone who has traveled via ride-share driver or cab has probably wondered what the driver has seen throughout his days and nights on the job. This book answers that question with fascinating stories that reveal all aspects of urban night life. It also brings to light how truly challenging it is to be a ride share driver. I couldn't put this book down as the ride-share driver narrates his experiences with a vast variety of passengers, ready to experience night life in Chicago. These experiences vary from fun and lighthearted to tear-jerking and everything in between. We also see how these experiences impact his personality. It was very well written and hard to put down--I found it reminiscent to Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." I highly recommend to anyone looking for an entertaining and fascinating read!
September 25, 2017
P.M white give the reader a rollick through current Americana brought to you by the Uber generation. These young 20 and 30 somethings(with a smattering of Boomers thrown in treat us to a part of America that many would not believe exists. What starts as a research project by an academic drags the reader into a late night world of the cab driver, the seamier sordid world of the late light crowd in Chicago. As each day progresses you wonder what human story will unfold, as the author skillfully pulls you into his temporary world of the Uber driver he assumes as he conducts economic trends research. This world fascinates the reader exquisitely, and I found myself closing the book only to ask, "Is there more?". I was also saddened to find that I was never told the trends that this precious research disclosed. Sigh.. But a sign of a good book is when you read it on one sitting and are wanting more. Let this be a sign to you to read this book.
February 14, 2019
Working in finance by day, the fifty-something author decides to devote his weekends over a three -month period to being an Uber driver. Tootling around Chicago in his Mercedes Benz he describes the motley assortment of passengers who climb into the back seat. But somehow he manages to make the book more about himself. Starting out in the first person, he splits into "Pat," his day-job persona and "Patrick," his Uber-driver persona. Throughout the book "Pat" and "Patrick" argue with one another. The result is irritating to say the least. Add to that the many painfully forced, cringeworthy metaphors which, apparently, are intended to be humorous. The book had two redeeming qualities for me. One were the descriptions of Chicago neighborhoods that I have come to know over my eleven years here as a retiree from New York. And the other? The fact that the book was mercifully short enough to read in one day.
August 31, 2017
I always find it hard to review memoirs. How do you review someone's view of events in their life? I don't know, but here we go! The premise sounds like it could be very interesting, and in some spots it is, in others it drags a bit. Sometimes the author would have a positive view on his passengers, but other times he'd have a seemingly random and alarmingly judgemental view on some people, who didn't seem to do anything to deserve it. He also seemed to take his experiences poorly, which is fine, but it didn't feel like it was worked up to well enough in the book, so fell somewhat dramatic to me. Overall I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. If the description sounds good to you, it' worth checking out.
May 11, 2020
Super quick read. The author has an unique perspective in that he travels in some elite circles during the day and chose to subject himself to the unwashed technocrat masses on the weekend for this experiment. I live in Chicago so the references to familiar hotspots and life here are at times fun, sad, and even tragic. I found myself nodding along at times as he reflected on his experiences driving as “Patrick” and the contrast to his life as “Pat” the turn around CEO who’s looking at his life and this experience through the lens of middle-age. It also made me wonder how (or if it’s possible for) people working in the service industry remain optimistic.
March 19, 2018
Overall, the book was a good read. However, I got annoyed by the author saying how his Pat Uber driver personality interfered with his real life job and Patrick personality. He became very cynical, thought all people were drunks who didn't know how to behave and just got very angry/bitter at the world.
I did like the funny stories he told about the crazy things people did in the backseat of his car. Just skip the parts where he complains about his back, leg, and side hurting after a night of driving because he's in his 50s.
I did like the funny stories he told about the crazy things people did in the backseat of his car. Just skip the parts where he complains about his back, leg, and side hurting after a night of driving because he's in his 50s.
November 5, 2017
I enjoyed this engrossing description of the author's descent into the proverbial rabbit hole each time he embarked on his undercover rideshare driving experience. At times, this book was comic...other times profoundly reflective. Although I could have done without the song tie-ins for each interlude, the vivid images and honest observations make this a book that will stay with me for a long time.
September 6, 2017
I was really unsure what to expect when I started reading this, so I didn't have too high of expectations. However, I ended up loving this book! I have never used an Uber (or even a cab for that matter). I live in the country and that has just always been a foreign concept to me. That may be part of the reason I was so enthralled with this book, but either way, I would highly recommend this book.
September 22, 2017
A very funny and very sad story about trying something totally different for research purposes. Filled with tales from the front seat looking back, it's about that second persona almost everybody that has worked in the service industry learns to adopt.
April 4, 2018
A quick read that made me laugh at times, and at other times withdrawal in horror (that last fare was a real doozy). I think the only thing I didn't like was the Pat/Patrick back and forth. It almost made the author seem like he had split personality disorder. Overall I give it 4 stars.
October 12, 2017
Patrick found out how other people live very different life's from his own and how hanging out with them can change the way you act.
October 12, 2017
BUZZ RIDE by P.M. White is a memoir of White's decision to become a weekend Uber driver in Chicago. Over the course of his three month experience, White develops an alternative personality, called Patrick, who approached being an Uber driver differently from how (Pat) White would probably act. This choice to be a different person feels like White's version of a midlife crisis and his solution is to experience life in new and different ways, mostly vicariously through all of his Uber riders.
There are some funny, some shocking, and some interesting stories that come out of White's three month experiment and the reader gets a better understanding of what life is like as a rideshare driver. Being a financially successful person already, White's drive to make money by driving is minimal, which adds some neat moments to the book but also leaves out feelings of someone just trying to make ends meet by driving.
I enjoyed BUZZ RIDE, but having read other memoirs of everyday people, there was something a little to clinical about this book, like White was writing journal entries to turn in at the end of the semester.
I received a copy of the book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.
There are some funny, some shocking, and some interesting stories that come out of White's three month experiment and the reader gets a better understanding of what life is like as a rideshare driver. Being a financially successful person already, White's drive to make money by driving is minimal, which adds some neat moments to the book but also leaves out feelings of someone just trying to make ends meet by driving.
I enjoyed BUZZ RIDE, but having read other memoirs of everyday people, there was something a little to clinical about this book, like White was writing journal entries to turn in at the end of the semester.
I received a copy of the book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.
February 7, 2018
I enjoyed hearing about the shenanigans that PM White saw and experienced during his three months as an Uber driver. I loved reading about the different fares he drove during his weekends.
The Pat v. Patrick perspectives didn't work for me but overall Buzz Ride is a descriptive and entertaining read.
The Pat v. Patrick perspectives didn't work for me but overall Buzz Ride is a descriptive and entertaining read.
October 4, 2017
If this were a fiction book, my review would state that "Buzz Ride is a sputtering rant with an unlikeable main character". Unfortunately it is a memoir, which makes it all the more dull. Relying more on "witty" humor over substance, this short tome is anything but necessary reading.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews