A fifth of Brits are comfortable with spilling their secrets to their taxi driver.
Cab Conversations
New research from the ride-hailing app FREE NOW has revealed that people are happy to open to cabbies in the midst of the post-pandemic mental health crisis.
The study found that almost two-thirds of passengers find such interactions with a stranger boost their mood, but 32 per cent of drivers bottle up their emotions in return.
Popular topics to discuss with cab drivers include family issues, problems at work and even the uncertainty of the future.
As a result of the findings, FREE NOW have teamed up with the mental health charity CALM and Chartered Psychologist Dr. Audrey Tang to create a 'cab conversations' guide that can open up more meaningful chat than small talk.
Dr. Tang said: "Conversation is one of the easiest ways to connect with others, reducing your sense of isolation. That’s why the few face-to-face interactions we get to have are even more precious as when they are positive and meaningful they truly have the capacity to improve our wellbeing and outlook on life. The most effective technique to aid this is by asking open questions that encourage more than a single word or sentence in response as they require more thought."