FROM BREAK UPS TO WATERS BREAKING

From the making (and breaking) of a relationships, to the spilling of family secrets, taxi drivers have seen it all – with almost a quarter of Brits (23%) confessing their secrets to a cabbie, according to new research from ride-hailing app, FREE NOW.

The nationwide survey found that Brits are prone to pouring their hearts out to taxi drivers, with the most common confessions being affairs (37%), secret health diagnoses (35%), financial issues (35%), and pulling a sickie from work (38%).

FREE NOW’s survey of its drivers uncovered some equally outrageous secrets. Three quarters (75%) of drivers said that they had had a customer confess to having an affair, whilst a third (33%) have had a passenger say they’ve lied to their boss or work colleague. A quarter (25%) have heard about their customers’ financial difficulties, and the same number have been told about a One respondent witnessed a marriage proposal in the back of his cab, whilst multiple drivers have had a woman go into labour during a journey; and heart-warmingly, 25% of drivers have had a customer share the news that they’re expecting a baby. Conversely, a sixth (16%) had been told by their customer that they don’t love their partner.

So why is it that these vehicles have become modern-day confessionals? The biggest reasons include people knowing they were unlikely to see their driver again (23%), finding ease in confiding in a stranger (19%) and feeling trust in their driver (12%). When asked why they would tell all to a taxi driver, one person confessed: “Because of the intimacy created by being in a small space, with someone without making eye contact – it’s like [the] feeling of being in a confessional box.”

It may come as no surprise to learn that millennials are the most likely age group to air their dirty laundry in the backseat – with almost half confessing to having a huge argument in the back of a taxi (46%), breaking up with someone (40%) and having a cry (39%).

Londoners are most likely to confess a secret (46%), ranking the highest regionally, followed by the West Midlands (28%), with Northern Ireland ranking the lowest (6%). As regular ride-hailers, Londoners are also the most likely get up to no-good most frequently, with the highest rates across the board – whether that be falling asleep (44%), snogging (40%) arguing (37%), being sick (33%) or crying (33%).

Interestingly, the FREE NOW research also showed that men were more likely to have ‘fessed up’ to their driver (27%) than women (19%). The most common confession among men is that they’ve had an affair (40%), whilst for women, it’s skiving off work (34%) or admitting they are in love with someone that’s unavailable (34%).

 

Tags from the story
Written By
More from Eva Dixon
WAGAMAMA CELEBRATES THE RETURN OF NATIONAL KATSU CURRY DAY
As tradition dictates, Friday 27th of September marks National Katsu Curry Day, and...
Read More
0 replies on “FROM BREAK UPS TO WATERS BREAKING”