SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Seattle driver’s ‘Uber conversation menu’ goes viral

Mar 8, 2019, 5:32 AM | Updated: 12:32 pm

uber, rideshare, sexual assaults, Uber menu...

Rideshare giant Uber continues its push for congestion tolling in Seattle. (AP)

(AP)

You’ll get more than just a ride if you end up in George Ure’s Uber — you may find yourself with a free comedy show, a therapy session, or even an encounter with your high school nemesis.

Ure created his own ‘Uber menu’ so that passengers can hand-pick what they want him to talk about, how much they want him to talk, or even if they want him to talk at all during the ride. If you’ve ever been that chatty person who is disappointed to find a quiet Uber driver, or an introvert annoyed by a driver’s attempts to talk, Ure’s Uber menu is your chance to design your own custom rideshare experience.

“I had the idea, and it was a joke, it started out as a complete joke, to just kind of break the ice, make passengers laugh,” Ure told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

RELATED: Meet the Edmonds mom who went viral with snowy twist on Lady Gaga’s ‘Shallow’

Finding himself with some downtime during the Seattle Snowpocalypse, Ure — who coincidentally once ended up on the same skydiving plane as Dori — made the menus just for the heck of it.

He gave Dori a quick rundown of the selections he offers his riders:

The Stand-Up Ride: “If people want to be entertained and laugh, I definitely can provide that option for them.”

The Silent Ride: “It’s just silence.”

The Therapy Ride: “If you’ve got something on your mind, I want to help take it off.”

The Creepy Ride: “I say things like, ‘You smell so much different when you’re awake,’ and [give] weird looks in the rear-view mirror.”

The Rude Ride: “It’s kind of an assessment process to identify past traumas and bullying from high school, and then you just pretty much become their drunk bad stepfather and really just crush their soul.”

Luis, a rider from Kirkland, was so amused by the Uber menu that he posted it on Twitter, where it exploded.

There are now over half a million likes and 120,000 retweets on Luis’s original Twitter post. It was also “tearing it up on Instagram,” according to Ure, and making the rounds on Facebook.

“It’s weird being internet-famous,” Ure said. “I don’t think there’s been one passenger I’ve had since who hasn’t recognized me … this is like, whoa man, this is crazy.”

While he looks forward to “get[ting] back to [his] usual grind,” he is enjoying the chance to bring some joy to people’s lives while on a routine rideshare drive.

“It’s definitely fun for now,” he said. “What I do love about it is, I’ve made so many people laugh.”

Associated Press

ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas, officials say

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man on Sunday in Austin, Texas, authorities said. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer rammed the man’s car then got out of his federal vehicle and opened fire at least five times, said Mike Siegel, who represents Austin’s District 7. The shooting […]

1 hour ago

FILE - The Converse logo is displayed on the roof of the company's world headquarters in the West E...

Associated Press

Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery

The sneaker company Converse has removed a social media ad that sparked outrage among critics who viewed it as evoking the Ku Klux Klan and lynching. The Instagram ad photo showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers. Critics lashed out online, saying that a white triangular […]

3 hours ago

FILE - New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during the annual New York State Financial Control Boar...

Associated Press

Trump and Mamdani plan to meet in New York during the president’s upcoming UN visit

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when Trump travels to the city for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly. The meeting is scheduled for Monday and at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, according to Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director. Bahr said the two will discuss issues […]

4 hours ago

FILE - Patrick Clancy sits on the stand during the Lindsay Clancy murder trial at Plymouth Superior...

Associated Press

Patrick Clancy to give first TV interview on ’60 Minutes’ after Lindsay Clancy mistrial

The ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy will give his first televised interview to “60 Minutes” on CBS News on Sunday after a jury deadlocked in her trial for killing their three young children. Patrick Clancy is expected to talk about the grief of losing his children and address social media conspiracy theories surrounding the case, which […]

4 hours ago

Police are searching for a suspect in a deadly shooting in Des Moines, Washington early Sunday morn...

Tom Brock

Des Moines police searching for murder suspect in early morning shooting

Police are looking for a suspect who shot and killed a man in downtown Des Moines early Sunday morning.

5 hours ago

Associated Press

18 suspects accused in the July 2021 killing of Haiti’s president being extradited from Haiti to US

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Eighteen suspects who were arrested in the July 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were awaiting extradition to the U.S. on Sunday, marking the end of a drawn-out judicial process in Haiti for a killing that shocked the troubled Caribbean country. The suspects will face trial in Florida, according to […]

5 hours ago

Seattle driver’s ‘Uber conversation menu’ goes viral