Atlanta, United States

A new ridesharing app named Black Wolf has entered the market, aiming to compete with established players like Uber and Lyft. However, the feature that distinguishes Black Wolf from others is that "drivers of these vehicles are armed with guns." Following its launch, the app gained significant attention after going viral on Reddit over the weekend. The company has marketed the feature as "executive protection" for individuals who fear for their safety. 

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'A necessary evil'

The founder of Black Wolf, Kerry King Brown defended this controversial decision describing it as a "necessary evil" born out of escalating concerns regarding one's safety with a never-ending wave of mass shootings and incidents of gun violence in the United States. 

In an interview with a local news station in Atlanta, he said, "Who are mostly on the news getting robbed, getting raped? The average person."

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He added, "What I'm creating is a necessary evil. It's a necessity."

Assuring safety, Brown, who claims to have experience as a private investigator and bodyguard, said many of the Black Wolf's drivers come from military and security backgrounds. As per the clip aired by the local news station in Atlanta, Brown himself worked as a bodyguard for Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

However, he did not clarify queries like whether the drivers undergo background checks and receive any training in de-escalation techniques to handle such confrontations that might arise during the rides. 

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Black Wolf Services

As per reports, the app will be available for free on Apple's App Store and Google Play.

The app will offer three different services: Armed Executive Protection, Unarmed Executive Protection and School Executive Protection. 

The inclusion of the "school-related facility" is due to former shooting incidents and the company aims to position services as a means of ensuring safer transportation for children attending schools.

Additionally, every Black Wolf App vehicle comes equipped with GPS tracking and live-streaming technology that allows riders to share location with their loved ones to keep both their passengers and drivers safe.

As cited by Unilad, in Atlanta, the base price for an armed driver is $60, $50 if they’re unarmed, and then you pay about $1.75 per mile on top of that.

(With inputs from agencies)

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