[General Stalin]

We knew it was coming, and the name of the app couldn't possibly be more fitting.

The service has been created by an actual white knight - a former male Uber driver who feels Uber is not "safe enough for women" and they should never have to "feel uncomfortable."

Some of the functions of the service are borderline satire.

Quote:

Reason #1: Chariot for Women was created by a former Uber driver who realized that Uber often isn't the best option for women. So, he created that option.

The premise behind Chariot for Women is simple: rides for women, by women. That means only ladies (and males under age 13) can request rides. When your chariot arrives, there will be a lady behind the wheel. Every single ride, every single time.

The app was created by Michael Pelletz, a former Uber driver from Boston.

According to BostonInno and the Chariot for Women website, the idea for the app came from Pelletz's experience driving up to 17 hours a day to support his wife and three children. Pelletz told BostonInno that he had several encounters that left him feeling unsafe behind the wheel.

During one scary ride, a disoriented, incoherently babbling passenger climbed into the back seat of Pelletz's car. The rider became so agitated, repeatedly reaching for something concealed in his pocket, that Pelletz pulled over and alerted the police.

"What if I was a woman?" Pelletz recalls thinking. "How would a woman handle that situation, especially when I was so nervous myself?" That's when he realized how potentially dangerous an Uber ride can be for a woman, be she driving or riding.

First of all: Thank you, Michael Pelletz, for putting yourself in someone else's shoes. Secondly, thank you for not just having that perspective-shifting thought, but for taking it one step further and working toward a solution. Third: There's potential for Chariot for Women to impact survivors of sexual assault and harassment in an incredibly positive way, and that could not be a bigger deal.

In the future, we hope pioneering app makers will consider other vulnerable populations, like transmasculine or nonbinary folks, who might benefit from similar technologies.

Reason #2: The app's functions were designed to make women feel as safe as possible.

Each member of Chariot for Women's exclusively-female driver squad will be thoroughly background-checked before she's accepted to the platform. Just like Uber, a passenger will see a picture of her driver, as well as the car's make and license plate number, when she requests a ride.

There will also be a "safe word" sent to the potential passenger. If the driver knows the right word, the ride can begin; if she does not, the passenger knows not to get into the car.

Knowing your driver is qualified? Check. Knowing who's picking you up? Check. Even after all of that, knowing a safe word to reassure you even more? Check.

Reason #3: A portion of every fare goes to charity.

Pelletz's wife, Kelly, is the president of Chariot for Women. According to their website, Kelly's greatest joy is helping other people, and she's putting that passion into action. Kelly implemented a plan for 2% of every single fare, 24 hours a day, to be donated to women-focused charities. This means more money to foundations that are trying to cure diseases, end violence and abuse, help empower women and more. Every month, there will be a list of 10 local and national charities, chosen by customers through the app. While a passenger is in the car, a popup will come up displaying these 10 charities and she can immediately choose where her 2% goes. As soon as she hits the button, the charity will immediately get the money deposited in its bank account.

So basically, ladies will not only be provided with safe, secure rides from fellow females, but also have the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, significant charitable organizations. You can pinch yourself, but you're not dreaming.

And you shouldn't have to feel like you're dreaming when it comes to a service providing you with the fundamental safety you deserve.

April 19 can't come soon enough.

http://www.dose.com/style/28133/Here-s-W...n-April-19

Ladies, your chariot awaits.

[fugly1000]

Actually, this may good thing to invest in. Could succeed and it will have a trickle effect on über and Lyft if it does succeed. Lyft and Uber can do female driver only requests from customers. But if this guy has women helping run the business, this crap won't last. I can see women paying more to feel safe. Not a bad concept.

[General Stalin]

My only regret is not thinking of this first and cashing in on mainstream America's limitless market for coddling women.

[NilNisiOptimum]

Didn't a woman already try this idea only to have it fail because no woman wanted to be a cab driver?

[samsamsam]

Well if they combined it with this thread-55020...pid1273010

They could call it Chariots of Fire.

[eatthishomie]

Quote:

Didn't a woman already try this idea only to have it fail because no woman wanted to be a cab driver?

It actually failed because not enough women were willing to work nights and weekends to make the service viable. Heaven forbid large numbers of special snowflakes give up their clubbing and socializing time to get a business for women off the ground.

Also, I have been using UBER regularly for almost a year and can count the number of female drivers I've had on one hand.

So yeah good luck with that all around.

Here's another thing: they let boys under 13 use the service. Based on the number of women who have been assaulting little boys and getting away with it lately, I can only conclude that this service is about putting little boys in danger.

[Deepdiver]

Uber crushes this anti-male discriminatory service with tighter background checks and a solid safety PR campaign plus robust periodic drugs and alcohol screenings. Just like cab, bus, and train operators.

Problem is these ride-sharing services grew so fast that ex-cons, sex offenders and illegals fell through the cracks.

UBER and Lyft have multi-billion dollar brands to defend - they will crush this illegal sexually discriminatory male bashing service like the septic toxic idea it is.

[alexdagr81]

Wait, what about their civil case? I thought they went to court for blatant discrimination.

[Scoundrel]

Somehow "safety" and "women drivers" don't quite go together....

[Saweeep]

Very few "for women by women" businesses succeed.

In fact, I can't think of one...

[CaptainChardonnay]

such a stupid idea

[username]

"Chariot for Women" is probably the stupidest name I have heard for any product, anywhere in the world. Uber: cool name, Lyft: cool name. They instantly killed their business before they even started.

[Snowplow]

(04-10-2016 05:06 PM)username Wrote:  

"Chariot for Women" is probably the stupidest name I have heard for any product, anywhere in the world. Uber: cool name, Lyft: cool name. They instantly killed their business before they even started.

He probably used to say "Your chariot awaits, M'lady."

[la bodhisattva]

Jesus Christ, imagine the amount of accidents this service is going to cause.

Five bae's needing a ride after three Lemon Drops each being driven by another woman who "just can't even deal right now" between her 3 year old son, her receptionist job at the salon, and paralegal night classes.

[Anabasis to Desta]

(04-10-2016 04:05 PM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

Very few "for women by women" businesses succeed.

In fact, I can't think of one...

Keeping up with the Kardashians?

[kosko]

This will flop as folks have noted that you won't be able to find female drivers during busy times like at night and on weekends. Women who are serious about action & cash will stay with Uber. The few women drivers I have had with Uber have been EE or Italian. Old style women who don't take BS and obviously had a man with money as all drove big SUV type cars, many that should of been UberSelect.

This idea has been done on a smaller scale in the hood. Women actually want a standard service to help them get them and kids to daycare/school and for safe travel at night. Those services are smaller scale and either organize car pools for school, or have fixed routes at night time to get women from a transit stop to their area. That is addressing a sizable service demand and the local women all organize to best deliver that service. I think that example is going on in D.C. and NYC right now.

These Boston Bobo's/limo lefties don't understand all that stuff. In many Hoods there is fucked up shit that could be a hazard for women and kids so they had to think of a way to address that. You wan't see this bougie app go into the Hood to go help those women out though.

I give this App 30 months.. once that seed money dries up.

[Deepdiver]

(04-10-2016 05:06 PM)username Wrote:  

"Chariot for Women" is probably the stupidest name I have heard for any product, anywhere in the world. Uber: cool name, Lyft: cool name. They instantly killed their business before they even started.

LOL I was contacted for a position with a startup called SecuritySquirls even misspelled the name to find the dot com - I told them I would never work for a company with a name so foolish and stupid that I would never be their customer no matter how good their staff - no one ever got fired for buying from IBM or Microsoft or Amazon. But SecuritySquirls???

Like naming a home and business security monitoring service El Banditos...

In Trout and Reis books "Positioning" and "Guerilla Marketing" the name is the most important thing you can select for a new company or product as it is the hook into the customer's memory for that brand and product or service.

[Skull_Leader]

The "Safe Word" Might be a good idea, though...

[Onto]

Women are shitty drivers and women know that.

[TornadoByProxy]

Illegal.
Next.

[Dominance]

I was imagining the drivers would look more like this when I seen the title.

[Tuthmosis]

I've found actual footage of some trials they did for this service:

[muscless]

How can a woman feel more safe with a female driver?!? Women need a man to feel safe!

[TheSlayer]

This venture is doomed to fail. They are not going to be able to hire enough women drivers and that's the entire premise of this service. Driving is not one of those glamorous, paper-pushing, cubicle corporate job. Women don't care about "equality" when it comes to being a driver and are not going to be bothered to sign it in large enough numbers to make the venture successful like say Uber or Lyft.

[Bacchus]

Chariot, as told through gifs

Chariot driver in action:



Chariot passenger gets picked up:

Warning

My face watching it all: