Giving your friend a ride in your car be a lot of fun, the gossip, the laughs, and the listening to music. But sometimes your friend can ask you for a ride one too many times, this can be irritating if you have to go out of your way to accommodate her.
Instead of wallowing in what you should do, have a look at some ways you can hand your friend when she asks for a ride.
8 Ways to handle a friend who always asks for rides
If your friend is always asking you for a ride then you need to be firm and tell her that you are not able to, especially if giving her a ride means that you have to inconvenience yourself. Tell her that you don’t mind giving her a ride if both of you are going in the same direction.
Tell her to give you money for gas
It goes without saying that driving costs money because you need to pay for gas. It doesn’t matter if you are going to the same place or in the same direction. If she wants you to give her a ride now and again, say once or twice a month then it’s fine. But this is a constant request and she is asking for a ride every day or every two days then she has to start contributing towards paying for the gas.
Make excuses about other people
I see no problem in coming up with an excuse, if you don’t want to hurt your friend’s feelings and are not brave enough to tell her “no”, then make an excuse about a situation. You can always tell her that your mom, aunty, or cousin wants you to take them somewhere or that your niece has invited you out for lunch or dinner so you won’t be able to give her a ride. But whatever the excuse you come up with is, just remember it the next time you see her so that she doesn’t catch on that you were lying the whole time.
Encourage her to book an Uber or Cab
Your friend might be used to being driven around and in return may not know (although highly unlikely) or even have downloaded the uber app. If she is calling for a ride consistently tell her to call an Uber and highlight the fact that it’s much cheaper and convenient for her to call an uber because she won’t have to wait for you to finish whatever you are doing or she won’t have to rush herself, she can take her time and when she is done she can call for an Uber.
Giver her rides when it’s convenient for you
You cannot put yourself out or delay things that you have to do because you have to give your friend a ride. Make it clear that you don’t mind giving her a ride but only when it’s convenient for you, only when you have the time, and only when it’s not going to make your life uncomfortable. If your friend asks you to drive her around and you have to shift things in your personal life then the request does not work for you. If you are going to the same place at the same time, why not?
Continue to give her rides
If she asks you for a ride and you are always ready and available, continue to drive her. The reality is if you are not honest with your friend then she obviously doesn’t know that her asking you for a ride is irritating. If it doesn’t bother you and you love the company the by all been, let us not disturb you.
Tell her she can’t eat in your car
I’m not sure what it is but there is something about eating inside cars that some people love to do, I personally find it very annoying, if this is your friend then you might be in luck. Tell her that you don’t like the fact that she eats in your car, with any luck she won’t like the eating ban and will make alternative ride arrangements.
Ignore her text messages
When she sends you a text message about wanting a ride you can always ignore it, just because you read it doesn’t mean you have to do something about it. If she asks you why you didn’t respond to her text message feel free to tell her that you forgot, or that as you were about to respond your battery died.
Stand firm
You have to say what you mean and mean what you say. If your friend comes up with sib stories about why she needs a ride and starts telling you about how hard her life is and how much you mean to her, this is a manipulation tactic to get you to cave in, so stand firm.
With the same breath, You cannot tell your friend that you can’t give her a ride one minute then the next you are calling her asking if she wants to ride with you to wherever it is that you didn’t want to go to.
How do you say no to picking someone up?
There are many ways you can say no to picking someone up the best answer to this would be” I am sorry I won’t be able to pick you up, I am not going in the same direction as you”
If you want more suggestions that take a look at some more excuses that you can use.
11 Excuses for not giving someone a lift
- “Sorry I have plans and your route is out of the direction that I am going to”
- “I am sorry, I won’t be able to give you a lift, I am picking my husband up from his place of work “
- “Oh, I would love to but my sister and I have plans”
- “I won’t be able to give you a lift until you contribute money”
- “I’m sorry but I like to drive around and change my plans, I might inconvenience you because you want to get to your destination”
- “I have to be out at a certain time so I won’t be able to wait for you”
- “I am driving other people around from my job as part of a lift club”
- “My children have a busy week and I am driving a carpool”
- “I am late for work”
- “I won’t be around for two weeks”
- “I only have enough gas to get to my place, so I won’t be able to divert in your direction”
To wrap it up
If you’re the only friend with a car getting out if driving your friends around can be tricky, I mean they probably expect you to be there since you are all friends. Having a car should be fun and in all honesty, is designed so that you can have more freedom in your life, you don’t want to find yourself being an unpaid chauffeur and you end up saying to yourself “I hate being the designated driver”. So speak up, your friend probably doesn’t know how you feel, and this is not something she should get angry about.