3 ms·

Don't tell me... you are a man? I guess so. How many middle class women and above want to ride SFMuni after dark? Few. The future of self-driving taxis is w

by throwaway2037 4mo ago

Don't tell me... you are a man? I guess so. How many middle class women and above want to ride SFMuni after dark? Few. The future of self-driving taxis is women (customers) who want to live in a big city, but don't want to ride mass transit, nor ride in a ride-hailing services (Uber, etc.) with a human driver... because most drivers are men.

saghm 4mo ago
I imagine that Uber can also be somewhat sketchy but with a different risk profile (getting into the car with a stranger, often a man, and needing to trust that they'll drive you to the right location), which means that self-driving taxis would be a potential safety upgrade over that as well.
- throwaway2037 4mo ago
  1000%. Ask any women who uses ride-hailing services: Have you ever had a situation where the driver made you uncomfortable or fear for your safety? I would conservatively estimate 100% of women. I think men just do not understand how much women are willing to pay to guarantee they can avoid this situation.
  - saghm 4mo ago
    I definitely was not aware of this when I was younger, but after years of learning to be a better listener and learn about experiences outside my own, my perception is that there are unfortunately quite a lot of situations that most men would consider quite mundane but pretty much all women will have had to fear for their safety in. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that when others have trouble conceiving of this phenomenon given how long I went without picking up on it, but now that I'm aware of it it's impossible not to see it everywhere.
  - throwawaytea 4mo ago
    Not a single woman has even asked or cared if I felt uncomfortable at a gas station at night, or ATM, or walking down the street. Yet data shows men are more likely to be physically assaulted and/or killed by strangers.
    - saghm 4mo ago
      This framing ignores the fact that most people who commit crimes like the ones you mention are men. A man encountered in one of those situations alone is a lot more likely to be a threat, so I'm not sure why you'd expect that a woman would try to initiate conversation with him.
      - throwawaytea 4mo ago
        ? I'm not saying women are supposed to chat up random men. I'm saying of the women I know well, not one has ever cared about the danger non criminal men face in the world. All they talk about is the danger women face.
seizethecheese 4mo ago
This kind of gender politics is tiresome. You could easily point out that for women public transit is untenable after dark instead of bringing the OP’s identity into it.
- themafia 4mo ago
  > This kind of gender politics is tiresome. I think they're trying to convey that this kind of gender ignorance is equally tiresome.
  - throwaway2037 4mo ago
    You hit the nail on the head.
waterhouse 4mo ago
Uber and Lyft both provide an option for women to request female drivers. In both cases, they say they can't guarantee it and that they may end up matched with a male driver. (In Lyft's case, they group "nonbinary" with women.) I suppose you could cancel if you see it's a man, and if that's rare enough, maybe that's workable. (Though, it seems, that would happen only if there aren't any female drivers available, and thus you'd have to fall back to other transportation.) https://help.uber.com/en/riders/article/women-preferences-faq?nodeId=b1846e08-48f4-440c-8938-0dd6fb27d699 https://help.uber.com/en/riders/article/women-preferences-fa... https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/all/articles/9030680293-Women%2B-Connect-for-riders https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/all/articles/9030680293-Women...

saghm 4mo ago

I imagine that Uber can also be somewhat sketchy but with a different risk profile (getting into the car with a stranger, often a man, and needing to trust that they'll drive you to the right location), which means that self-driving taxis would be a potential safety upgrade over that as well.

throwaway2037 4mo ago
1000%. Ask any women who uses ride-hailing services: Have you ever had a situation where the driver made you uncomfortable or fear for your safety? I would conservatively estimate 100% of women. I think men just do not understand how much women are willing to pay to guarantee they can avoid this situation.
- saghm 4mo ago
  I definitely was not aware of this when I was younger, but after years of learning to be a better listener and learn about experiences outside my own, my perception is that there are unfortunately quite a lot of situations that most men would consider quite mundane but pretty much all women will have had to fear for their safety in. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that when others have trouble conceiving of this phenomenon given how long I went without picking up on it, but now that I'm aware of it it's impossible not to see it everywhere.
- throwawaytea 4mo ago
  Not a single woman has even asked or cared if I felt uncomfortable at a gas station at night, or ATM, or walking down the street. Yet data shows men are more likely to be physically assaulted and/or killed by strangers.
  - saghm 4mo ago
    This framing ignores the fact that most people who commit crimes like the ones you mention are men. A man encountered in one of those situations alone is a lot more likely to be a threat, so I'm not sure why you'd expect that a woman would try to initiate conversation with him.
    - throwawaytea 4mo ago
      ? I'm not saying women are supposed to chat up random men. I'm saying of the women I know well, not one has ever cared about the danger non criminal men face in the world. All they talk about is the danger women face.

seizethecheese 4mo ago

This kind of gender politics is tiresome. You could easily point out that for women public transit is untenable after dark instead of bringing the OP’s identity into it.

themafia 4mo ago
> This kind of gender politics is tiresome. I think they're trying to convey that this kind of gender ignorance is equally tiresome.
- throwaway2037 4mo ago
  You hit the nail on the head.

waterhouse 4mo ago

Uber and Lyft both provide an option for women to request female drivers. In both cases, they say they can't guarantee it and that they may end up matched with a male driver. (In Lyft's case, they group "nonbinary" with women.) I suppose you could cancel if you see it's a man, and if that's rare enough, maybe that's workable. (Though, it seems, that would happen only if there aren't any female drivers available, and thus you'd have to fall back to other transportation.) https://help.uber.com/en/riders/article/women-preferences-faq?nodeId=b1846e08-48f4-440c-8938-0dd6fb27d699 https://help.uber.com/en/riders/article/women-preferences-fa... https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/all/articles/9030680293-Women%2B-Connect-for-riders https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/all/articles/9030680293-Women...