Honestly this is a great joke but also could legitimately be a good service for someone who didn’t feel safe walking alone, or needs help navigating
Speaking as a person who does not fit the demographic for this service, the big problem I see with it is how you trust that the walking buddy is actually going to be safer than nothing. Uber drivers are somewhat regularly in the news for assaulting women and I know several women that don’t like riding them alone
A lot of university campuses have this. It’s a good idea.
My school had a number you could call and they’d dispatch a golf cart with 2 student workers to take you anywhere on campus for free, 24/7 (minus holidays and breaks when University offices were cosed).
They probably don’t charge money for that service though, and that’s a better idea.
They do, it’s part of the tuition
It’s also run by people vetted by the school who are also employees so they generally have other responsibilities and then the service doesn’t generate a profit. Which is a long way of saying it’s not even remotely close to being the same
Not really the same. Charging for this would discourage people from using it. They have to make a choice on feeling safe vs. spending money.
This gives everyone the option and subsidizes it to the entire community.
This is exactly why socializing things like this is beneficial.
Every service has a cost. That cost is the value of the labor being provided. But we decide as a society that providing services like this benefits everyone living in society. Regardless of if they use it directly or not.
When people say “free” in this context that’s what they mean. They mean the decision based on personal finance is removed.
We don’t want people choosing personal finance over safety or health. Removing that dependency benefits everyone.
Good point. A sort of community service I guess
Glad you got that! Its a major point in talking about social programs. If you can see this in college programs you can see the benefit when applied to social programs as well. Not sure if I can convince you of that too. But it’s always nice to get a response of “that makes sense” in this context.
Maybe subsidized by it, but a lot of services from my local state institution are accessible by all.
I found out in my senior year, that my campus had been plagued by a serial rapist for several years, going back to before i was a freshman, and the school had covered it up. I only found out about it when i learned that my roommate’s girlfriend had a sorority sister on a full-ride scholarship to keep her quiet about being raped in her freshman year.
Suddenly, the pressure to use their chaperone service became clear.
John Mulaney has a joke about how his parents knew Bill Clinton that way, from all going to undergrad together at Georgetown. Apparently all the women loved being escorted by Bill Clinton, and the men were all jealous.
Well yeah, he was the president.
Tbh, it makes sense. You don’t end up being president by being a no-rizz fool. You may be considering bringing up Trump as a counter-argument, but just look at all the people that are letting him pound them in the ass right now.
Wait: My memory of the story was that Clinton loved to escort women around and constantly signed up for the duty, and everyone else on all sides of the equation had no particular strong feelings about it. Except for John Mulaney’s mom.
You’re right, this is a great services for predators to register.
It’s a great idea. This is the shit side of it.
how can it be this cheap though? sure it doesn’t require gas but it takes longer so the guy would need more pay for the service right?
If they actually matched up with the routes other people might take, I would do it. I’m always walking around downtown anyways, but I’m a relatively large poor-looking man so I never get hassled.
The business model is to make it cheap initially by subsidizing it with investor capital. So, the gig worker may be paid more than the user is being charged. Then, eventually raise the price once the user base is large enough and dependent enough on it (or the prior alternative is sufficiently put out of business).
Especially if they’d help carry your bags and whatnot; that could be very helpful for someone who has mobility issues or just has a lot of things they need to bring. Well worth $7.50
It’s at least 5 years old and it seems every single year the news outlets “fact check” it and declare it false.
Meanwhile we have actual conspiracy theories on official government websites and those same outlets say nothing.
I hate this timeline.
There’s been jokes that end up becoming reality so yearly fact-checks is appreciated
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This is routing from LaGuardia airport in NY, meaning the “walking” route has you taking a subway. Maybe the walking buddy is a local NYC thing meant for people who want assistance navigating the trains. I never see this on my app tho so it must have been a trial feature.
I’m hoping (praying) that since this is a shitposting sub, you and I both are just particularly gullible and this is not an actual thing.
For the first time, I saw a car with Uber stickers in my country. Wanted to peel them off, but I also don’t wanna get in a fight over it. Pretty sure it’ll mostly be used by foreigners because the local alternative has several years of advantage and is also a multinational now.
Why?
friend, if i gotta burn down shit while facing forced disappearance to el salvador, you’d better be peeling the corporatists’ stickers off cars to protect your local alternative
Friend, I live at least 7 timezones away from you. I appreciate you burning shit down, but the people who voted the orange fascist into power are your friends and family, not me.
America is so large that it’s very possible that person has no friends or family who voted for trump at all. I know I don’t.
Suddenly everyone is on their high horse about number of time zones away.
Also is Uber really the number one corporation we need to be fighting right now?
is your nation so removed from the world as to be immune to the resurrection of fascism and the march of billionaire monopolists? i suppose I’m nearly 12 timesones away from North Sentinel Island
If the fascists here take over, it’ll be the local ones tbh. But don’t worry, I’m already running a personal trade surplus with the USA. Trump would hate me.
This would be legitimately amazing.
Do they bring their own leash or can you use your own?
Can I use the one with the fuzzy collar?
For $7.50 I’d unironically use a walking buddy at least once
For safety in numbers, or talk therapy?
Novelty?
That’s literally the only reason to me. I’d be so weird for 20min that he’ll talk about it for a decade.
Them: white Kevin
You: dressed in a full body banana costume while awkwardly carrying a cinder block. Refuse to explain why, or talk about anything except a ranked list of the worst smells you’ve ever experienced. Destination is a closed public library at 2am. Say “well, it’s time to do the thing I came here to do.” Stand, watching them until they walk away.
“Drop off” makes it sound like he’ll carry you.
I would like this
I don’t say this much but that is actually a good idea, considering the amount of people that live very lonely and isolated lives. Maybe this can help some people to talk, enjoy another’s company, etc. Maybe. Everything else the effing internet and tech companies tried only managed to push people apart…
sure, it’s nice to do something about loneliness. Makes me think of human libraries, where you can borrow a human to have a talk with. But please, let’s do these things voluntarily and not for profit. There’s something nasty about “I’m only willing to speak to you if you pay me”.
Isn’t that a japanese thing? With cafes where you go to talk with a person?
But back to the subject at hand.
I could see this as a way to get someone’s help to take some groceries home or some large object a single person can’t, as it is too akward to hold alone.
Or as a personal guide or to have company to go to/through somewhere someone does not feel comfortable.
Uber invented escorts
Except that it gives predators an easy way to be alone with drunk women. I wouldn’t trust Uber’s security checks.
Same risk with a driver, I’d guess.
Did not expect Uber entering to pimp industry.
Both see the same offer, neither get the money
You know… There’s a lot of women that wouldn’t dare to walk alone at night. That white Kevin has been vetted by Uber and has a paper trail.
How about not just a white Kevin but an Armed Stacey, or a security guard Michelle.
of course, it’d probably cost MORE to get someone to walk with you because they’d have to not only drive there and walk but walk back.
Vetted by Uber doesn’t really mean much.
Especially because there’s a huge industry for fake driver accounts so literally anyone can buy an uber ‘employment’.
How do they get by having their actual picture?
Guess people don’t look too closely? nfi tbh.
I feel awfully called out as a 1994 white Kevin…
Hahaha white Kev never can catch a break
