Not for me, but maybe for you.
A TikTok-famous Black-owned ridesharing service featuring the option of armed drivers with a background in law enforcement or the military will be making its debut in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.
BlackWolf, a small rideshare startup and self-proclaimed people-driven business, recently revealed on social media the results of a poll asking its followers which state it should launch next. The people chose Texas and the startup is now in its recruiting stage trying to find drivers that fit the background: a clean license, a spotless federal background check, and of course, a permit to carry guns, founder Kerry KingBrown told Chron.
“The idea came from one of my clients that I was transporting; she was caught in human trafficking for about three years…she gave me the idea and said you need to create something, some type of transportation for people like me and my daughter,” KingBrown said, who worked for 19 years in the private security industry.
BlackWolf, which launched in Atlanta in 2023, has quickly cultivated a following with over 1 million social media followers on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok and has garnered more than 100 million online views. The app already has more than 300,000 downloads with 45 to 65 drivers in its four current markets of Atlanta, GA; Orlando and Miami, FL.; and Phoenix, AZ.
“We’ve all used rideshare and we’re not new to what I saw were the deficiencies,” KingBrown said, noting subpar driver safety standards in typical rideshare services.
“I wanted to create something for people like myself, for people like my past clients, but I wanted to make it more about them. I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to have peace of mind,” he continued.
The cost of a BlackWolf ride is expected to be 10 to 15 percent more than the average Uber or Lyft ride, bringing it more in line with an Uber Black ride. But KingBrown said that his company doesn’t even view these rideshares as competitors. For one, their drivers don’t carry guns.
“Those who are armed are licensed, they are vetted, and most of them are ex-military or law enforcement,” KingBrown said. “Those people understand how to carry a weapon. They’ve been trained with it.”
However, just because the drivers have a gun doesn’t mean they will use it. Instead, it’s more about perception. The gun acts as a deterrent from those that might want to do you harm, KingBrown told Chron. And as trained professionals, these drivers would know that the gun is “actually the last thing they’re going to use,” KingBrown said.
“We train our drivers in de-escalation,” he added.
Honestly, I’m a little surprised something like this didn’t already exist here. I’m not a regular rideshare user and wouldn’t seek out something like this even if I were, but I can believe there’s an adequate market for it. I wonder how long it will be before I see one of these cars on the street. Reform Austin, USA Today, and Houston Public Media have more.