Surprise! The moment one driver won a brand new Prius

Whether it’s finding loose change down the back of your sofa or getting your morning coffee for free, everybody loves a surprise.

The same goes for our partner-drivers. Each week, all uberX and uberXL partners are entered into a lottery draw. From cricket tickets to premiership football match passes, any driver to have completed over 75 trips that week is eligible to win a little something from a variety of prizes.

But last week’s giveaway wasn’t quite so little. We caught up with uberX driver Omar right after he found out he’d won a brand new Toyota Prius with zero miles on the clock.

Uber : Hello Omar, welcome to Uber London! Tell us a little bit about what happened this morning…

Omar : Well first I got a call from Thomas – he said it was something about my account and he needed to talk to me face-to-face.

Uber : What was going through your mind?

Omar : I kept thinking, what could it be? I was in a Persian restaurant in Crystal Palace when I took the call – I cancelled my food, cut through the back roads and tried my best to get there as fast as I could.

When I got to the office, all the Uber colleagues came into the room – and then Thomas was on the microphone. He said, we’re giving out a prize today, but today it’s a really big prize.

Uber : What happened then?

Omar : Thomas said the driver who’s winning the car is here in the office. Right now. Well, I had no idea it could be me. And then, he called my name! I was shocked. I thought no, he’s probably joking. And then it got serious when I saw the papers. Thomas even called me behind the microphone!

“The staff were very friendly, they all wanted to shake hands with me, everyone said ‘congratulations’ – all the other drivers waiting said ‘well done! Well done!’”

Uber : At any point when you were standing in that room did you think you could have won?

Omar : No. I only joined three weeks ago. I never thought this could happen to a new driver on Uber. When I left the office to see the car, one of the guys from my country stopped me to say congratulations. The reaction from the drivers was very good.

“I called my wife and she said ‘I don’t believe you’. So I sent her a picture of the keys.”

Uber : What difference will owning a car make to your life as a private hire driver in London?

Omar: Oh it’s a huge difference. At the moment, I’m paying £200 every week for the car I hire from a company – it’s a Prius – £200 cash plus I need to pay more for insurance because it’s a hire car.

“Now the car’s in my own name, I’ll pay less. It’s a very big difference. At least £1,000 a month.”

Uber: Have you called your wife yet?

Omar: I went out of the office and I called my wife. She said ‘this is another joke you’re telling me. I don’t believe you. You’re joking’. So I sent her a picture of the keys. She still doesn’t believe me.

Uber: We’re sure she’ll believe you when you drive home with the car! What will you do with the extra cash?

Omar : To be honest, I’ve got family, I’ve got three young children. There’s lots to do with this money. To save £1000 every month in England… it’s almost too much for me!

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