This Uber driver got a free VIP ticket to Taylor Swift thanks to three of his passengers
Maggie FairWhen Uber driver Khalil Calixte picked up three teens to drive them to Taylor Swift's recent concert at MetLife stadium, he had no idea he'd be joining them in VIP.
But that's exactly what happened when they decided to give him their spare ticket.
"We had a great time," Calixte told Business Insider. "I felt like I knew them for a long time and we created a bond, and it was really fun."
It started on Saturday evening, when Jenna McNicholas, Maggie Fair, and Jamie Tanzer arrived at Grand Central Terminal. (Full disclosure: the author of this post attended high school with all three.)
They were supposed to be a group of four, but their friend had backed out at the last minute, so they had an extra ticket, worth at least $201, that they weren't sure what to do with.
From Grand Central, they called an Uber, which Calixte was driving. He offered them the auxiliary cord so they could play their own music.
Of course, the girls played Taylor Swift.
When Calixte started singing along, they decided to give him their extra ticket.
"We were all looking at each other, we were like, wait, he needs to come to the concert with us," McNicholas told Business Insider.
Calixte thought they might be pulling his leg, he said, but he quickly accepted. He had never been to a concert before, and decided taking the rest of the night off from driving would be worth it.
Plus, there was the added bonus of a larger fare. Instead of being dropped off at Penn Station, where the girls would take another train to the concert, it now made more sense for them to pay Calixte to drive them all the way to MetLife. Luckily, Fair's tickets came with complimentary parking.
Calixte, McNicholas, Fair, and Tanzer bonded quickly. Before they knew it, they were laughing and joking together on the main floor, just a few rows away from Swift.
"It was like we were already friends. We danced and sang the whole night, it was so much fun," Fair said.
This isn't the first incredible experience Calixte has had thanks to his Uber passengers, believe it or not.
During a recent New York Fashion Week, Calixte picked up actress Kerry Washington's landlord. He invited the driver to a dinner with Washington and chef Emeril Lagasse.
"Everybody thought I was a model, but I was the Uber driver," Calixte laughed.
What's his secret to connecting with his passengers and receiving these invitations?
"Well, I have a smile, I channel good positive energy, and I only get great people in my car," he said.