Lyft Driver's Passion Project Gives Passengers Handwritten, Heartfelt Notes

— -- Passengers in Zia Ahmed’s Lyft car may only get in for a ride, but when they get out they walk away with something so much more meaningful.

“I was always chatting with the people I’d be giving rides to,” Ahmed, a Lyft driver in San Francisco, told ABC News. “They all have interesting stories to tell, and I wanted to capture that so I’d caption a few notes of our chat after they got out.”

After a while though, it dawned on him that he’d much rather have the passengers jot down a brief note themselves.

“I started asking them to write little notes down. Quite literally anything,” said Ahmed. “But then people were focusing me, saying ‘Ok, I’ll write something to Zia,’ but I didn’t want to be the focus. I wanted them to share with each other. They could leave a message for the next passenger.”

The idea took off, spiraling into what is now called “Lyft Me Up San Francisco.”

“Everybody would be glued to their cell phones or tablets or laptops and I wanted to take them out of that for one second to have a normal human conversation,” he explained about his project, which now has more than 2,000 handwritten, poignant and inspirational entries.

Each passenger leaves a special note of advice, encouragement, inspiration, fact or even a joke, for the next passenger, who Ahmed says is “always ecstatic to receive it.”

“I have this gorgeous physical diary I actually hand people,” he said. “People get so excited. They take it really, really seriously.”

Sometimes people are hesitant however, overwhelmed by being asked to write what they feel should be a profound note to a complete stranger. When that happens, Ahmed said, “I just tell them guys, ‘The point of this to write something about yourself. If you write about yourself, that’s no pressure.’”

Ahmed has gotten so many beautiful entries he couldn’t name a favorite, but read one aloud that particularly struck him.

“He’s dressed up in all complete white with this massive beard,” Ahmed recalled of the man who journaled the entry. “He writes, ‘Respect Sikhs. They wear turbans, dress for God and live with universal truth. They are persecuted all the time mistaken for terrorists but in their heart of hearts they love everyone and see everything as Gods beautiful creations.”

More than anything, Ahmed said he wants to capture the culture of the San Francisco Bay area.

“It’s a fabulous place with amazing people,” he said. “I want to capture people at this specific time in history. On a broader scale, I want to tell these short stories. They are beautiful little snippets from people’s lives saying amazing things.”

Ahmed is hoping to turn these beautiful notes into a book so more than just his passengers can be inspired by the joy they bring. He'd also love to eventually expand his project, working with other drivers across the country to gather messages from their riders.

“Most of my passengers say, 'This literally just made my day,’” he explained. “I’ve had people in my car weeping and bawling from a break up or something, but then I drop the book on them and they’re super happy -- just ecstatic.

“I genuinely like meeting all these people and learning about them,” he added. “I really like the fact people get so happy to have written messages.”