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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay Transport and urban affairs reporter

Awkward silences and backseat romances: what a week of riding Uber Pool reveals about Sydney

Guardian Australia reporter Elias Visontay on an Uber Pool ride on a Thursday night in Sydney
‘I was curious if passengers had re-embraced sharing confined spaces with randoms post-pandemic’: Elias Visontay takes an Uber Pool ride on a Thursday night. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

As kids we’re warned not to accept rides with strangers. But when my editors told me to take Uber Pools around Sydney and write about the characters I meet, I had little idea I’d be in for fashion critiques, tales of backseat romances, plenty of awkward silences – and mostly solo rides.

When it first launched before Covid, Uber Pool was perhaps the truest form of ride sharing.

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