UES therapist launching Uber for pedestrians to combat street safety fears: Im risking my life over cab fare

New Yorkers fearful of random attacks can rest a little easier.A Manhattan therapist — who was randomly assaulted in broad daylight — is launching her own “Uber for pedestrians” mobile app that seeks to boost street safety in numbers.Upper East Side resident Pamela Garber said her invention, Never Walk Alone NYC, will pair up users with other pedestrians in a “buddy system,” similar to rideshare services like Uber or Lyft, so they can commute without fear.“Walking is a testament to our freedom,” she told The Post, “[but] I’m walking past people shooting up, I’m walking past someone who looks hostile, and I’m calling my then-fiancé saying, ‘stay on the phone with me.’“If we can’t just walk and patronize restaurants and stores, we’re going to lose our entire way of life, particularly in New York,” she added.Garber’s fiancé tragically died in an accident before the pair were able to tie the knot, but she said she found solace by walking around the city — until the COVID pandemic brought more disorder to the streets.“My strong desire for family and subsequent disappointments were always soothed by walking the streets of the city,” Garber, 55, said. “The streets of New York were always comforting.It was always as if the city was one big neighborhood with the best of northeast hospitality, and welcoming witty -albeit often colorful- banter.

Walking to work was my front-seat off-Broadway show.”But Garber began noticing “visible” changes to her walking commute from the Upper East Side to her former office in the Financial District – and in 2019, after nearly a decade of strolling downtown, “it just became impossible” for her to hit the pavement without becoming fearful for her safety.“I just know that the environment changed, that it visually changed,” she said, adding that the full-fledged app idea came about in 2020 during the pandemic.Garber said she was also inspired to take action after being inundated w...