Also, hear them out when they start talking about unhinged conspiracy theories. It costs you nothing, makes your driver happy and gives you a funny story to share with your friends.

My last Uber driver told me we’d reaches the apex of human technology three times already but we lost it all due to human arrogance. My friend who was riding with me thanked me for handling the small talk and of course I took the praise, but I actually loved every second of that conversation. At least the topic is more interesting than the weather or what someone does for work.