Forget Tinder, Hinge or Bumble. Swiping is out — pedaling for love is in.
Walker Ward, 31, an ex-Wall Streeter turned viral comedian, has traded finance for a hot-pink pedicab and a mission to help single New Yorkers find love the old-fashioned way — by locking eyes with a stranger on the street.
“Since I got out of the rat race and left a corporate job, I’ve had more time during the day — I realized that there are so many cool people walking by, out and about,” the Jersey native, who has lived in the city for the past six years, told The Post.
“I thought, ‘What if they got to know each other — and how could I set that up?’ ”
Enter the “Mingle Mobile” — which takes the tried-and-tested concept of speed dating and puts it on three wheels, on a city street near you.
Partnering with Sharp Entertainment — the TV powerhouse behind the hit TLC show “90 Day Fiancé” — Ward launched “Pedicab Connections” in June, and the show is not only making a splash on social media, but sparking real matches, too.
With faux roses lining the sides, plush pink upholstery and a heart-shaped sign on top asking, “Single?” — it’s hard to miss the Mingle Mobile, which Ward also refers to as “The Single Sled” or the “Chariot of Desire.”
“You could be walking by the potential love of your life, but everyone’s so busy and glued to their phones. Why not put a little bookmark in someone’s day and help them meet in real life?” the roving romance wrangler said of his idea to drive around the city and pair up single Gothamites.
The Post hitched a ride on his love machine one recent evening in the West Village, where happy-hour crowds were spilling onto sidewalks — the perfect playground for Ward to work his unique brand of magic.
“I call the first single person in the cab the ‘hero rider.’ We’re just shopping for love on the streets of New York — I’m the sales associate, and they’re on the floor,” the matchmaker-on-the-move explained.
His first “hero rider” that evening was Clare Thomas Allen, a 28-year-old social media manager from the Upper West Side — who hopped into the pedicab while on her way to a workout.
Allen, clad in workout gear with her hair in a “messy bun,” laughed that she said yes to the ride “because that’s how bad the dating scene is.”
“Half of life is just showing up, and if I’m putting myself out there and saying yes to more opportunities, nothing can go wrong,” she told The Post.
Pedaling through busy Big Apple streets, Ward quickly spotted a potential beau for Allen — Luke Natale, a 32-year-old content creator from Asbury Park, NJ.
Once Natale had been flagged down and invited into the cab, Ward started grilling him and Allen on their love lives — “What are you looking for? Why are you still single? Are you feeling sparks?”
“Halfway through the ride, I’ll ask, ‘On a scale from 1 to 10, how’s it going?’ Then I encourage them to say what they like about each other so far,” Ward said.
To cut through any potential awkward moments, Ward whips out flirty icebreakers — little slips of paper questioning riders on everything from dating-text etiquette to what they want in a potential partner.
At the end of the ride, Ward has riders close their eyes and flash a paddle — green for “Go” (swap numbers and go on a real first date) or red for “Stop” (never see each other again).
After 10 minutes of games, laughs and some flirting, Allen was game for a date. Unfortunately for her, Natale wasn’t feeling it — so the two parted ways.
But Ward wasn’t done with Natale — soon rolling the bachelor into the path of 34-year-old concierge Justine Washington of Fort Greene.
Cue clear sparks — and confessions of a shared love for Italian food.
Natale and Washington hit it off — “I can see us getting some pasta together after this,” Natale quipped — and both held up the green side of the paddle after riding in the pedicab for 10 minutes.
Washington told The Post that the setup felt refreshing. “I hate the dating apps. I’m not on any apps. I’m not an active dater,” she admitted. “Dating isn’t the No. 1 thing on my priority list, so this experience allowed me to go on what felt like a date and it felt natural.”
While Ward admitted that so far, misses are just as if not more frequent than hits, he does have plenty of proof that his method works.
Last month, he proudly paired casting director Brooklyn Bagwell, 36, of Chelsea, with FiDi techie Joe DaCosta, 34 — and they are already lining up their third date.
“Meeting Joe in the pedicab ride was so organic,” Bagwell told The Post.
After Ward spotted DaCosta, he and Bagwell cruised around the city with Ward at the wheel — for what DaCosta called “a whirlwind of a half hour.”
They hit it off, leaving the Mingle Mobile for drinks — and eventually dinner.
Bagwell, who joked that Ward was “the perfect icebreaker,” said the unconventional date blew Big Apple dating-as-usual out of the water.
“I’ve lived in New York for over 15 years and dating is so awful here,” she said.
“I’ve never met a guy from a dating app who I went on a second date with. The pedicab date with Joe was better than any date I’ve ever gone on from an app.”
“Meeting someone organically is always better, even on a dating show in a pedicab,” DaCosta said, with a chuckle.
And, he admitted, meeting women outside of apps feels like a lost art.
Ward plans to match more singles in the fall and is planning to go out on more rides “with the beautiful foliage all around, a perfect romantic setting.”
“People scream when they see the Mingle Mobile. They’re like, ‘What is going on here?’ And then they want to hop in,” Ward told The Post of his recent success.
And when it comes to advice for NYC singles? Ward, who’s been happily partnered for four years, said that “approaching someone you like with confidence and being respectful” is key.
“Whether you’re in the pedicab or out at a bar in New York, I think that if you see someone you like, you gotta go for it. Walk into each room like God sent you, baby.”
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