Uber will pilot a feature in selected US cities that pairs women riders with female drivers, as part of its ongoing efforts to address safety concerns.
Next month, the ride-hailing service will test its women-only preference tool at three locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit.
Women drivers and passengers can choose to be matched with women of the same gender via their apps’ settings. Uber claims that while this isn’t a guarantee, it increases the chances of women and men being paired together during trips.
Uber’s US business has been under scrutiny for years over its safety practices, especially in cases of sexual assault and harassment.
Uber wants to eliminate a major barrier to female ride-hailing participation by offering women greater control on both sides.
Already in more than 40 countries, the Gender Tool is used to measure gender equality.
Uber’s pilot program builds upon its global rollouts of features similar to this one. In Saudi Arabia, the company introduced its first gender preference tool shortly after it lifted its ban against women drivers.
Uber has now expanded the service to 40 countries including France, Germany and Argentina.
After receiving feedback from women drivers, the decision was made to trial the feature. They expressed their desire for more control of who they choose as a passenger.
Uber announced that women could now select their preference to only drive women. An update is rolling out which reflects this choice. Pre-booking rides with gender preferences is also available, giving riders more flexibility.
Lyft’s rivalry with Uber is increasing.
Uber’s new pilot is a follow-up to a similar initiative by Lyft. The competitor introduced “Women+ Connect”, a feature, in late 2023.
This option is designed for women, nonbinary drivers and riders. It aims to increase comfort and safety on rides.
This development signals an industry-wide shift towards app-based solutions that address gender-based risks.
Both Uber and Lyft are concerned about safety. Uber’s internal 2015 survey found that less than 20% of the US drivers were women.
Safety concerns have been cited as an obstacle to joining, and to driving at late hours.
Uber believes that providing women with more control over the people they choose to drive or ride in a vehicle will increase female participation.
Riders’ trust is targeted by safety upgrades
Uber launched a series of updates to its safety measures in the last few years, including launching a new tool for gender preferences.
To reassure customers and lower the likelihood of misbehavior, the company offers features like teen accounts, PIN-verification for riders, and real-time trip tracking.
Uber has clarified that, while preferences of riders cannot be met due to logistics and availability issues, Uber will prioritize matching women together with women whenever possible.
Users who do not activate the tool will not be affected.
Uber is monitoring the feedback of drivers and passengers to assess the feasibility and potential expansion in other regions.
As new information becomes available, this post Uber test women-only rides on US roads amid safety concerns could be updated.
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