I.O.U. Transport

One group that presented offered the idea for a college transport service called I.O.U. Transport. The idea was loosely based off of Uber and looked to fix all the small errors that Uber clearly has. The group thought of having student drivers to help new students who don’t have a car or friends get around town. Not everyone has a car and some students want a job so this service could fulfill both of those things. The group stressed how Uber has shortcomings and this service was meant to create a close network within the college and also to help keep students safe. There are countless stories of Uber trips going wrong and women often the victims. But I.O.U Transport makes me wonder, how will they stay safe and protect their customers. Sexual Assault is very common in college, in fact freshman girls are most vulnerable. What can be done to prevent a possible male driver from taking advantage of girls he drives? Yes, you could fire them and have them arrested, but the poor girl has to live with that. How could that be prevented from the onset? Or can it?

            As to whether or not this is a moral issue, I am not completely sure. The premise of it is to help people get place to place when they do not know anyone else on campus. But that is what a taxi service does too. Is the fact that it is trying to create a safer environment for college students that makes it solve a moral issue? Or is Uber itself the moral issue? I am kidding on the last part. This project idea seems more suitable for a larger campus operation, but it would be safer on a smaller scale college such as CBU. What I mean by that is on a large campus, more students will be without a car and plus its more space on campus to travel. A small campus like CBU has everyone know everyone else and it won’t be too hard to find rides. But the fact that it’s a small campus makes the student more likely to know and trust who is driving them. The overall idea of this service is not a bad one, may need small improvements but it is promising.