Making women feel more confident when requesting rideshares is the goal of a new Uber feature called “Women Preferences,” which allows women to request a female driver in the rideshare app.
Uber is joining Lyft and other taxi hailing apps, like HERide and Just Her rideshare, that connect female passengers with women drivers.
Uber says the female focused program has launched successfully in 40 other countries ahead of the U.S. launch -- but some worry that issues like a lack of female drivers and other safety concerns won’t be fixed with the new feature.
Rideshare driver Eshall Wright has been behind the wheel since 2020.
“There’s a lot of times where women will get into the car and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, thank God, a woman driver,’” Wright said.
Uber heard the same sentiment and is launching “Women Preferences,” which allows both female riders and drivers to match.
But Wright worries the program could hurt business.
“We’re going to get 50% less rides because of this, whether you’re a male driver or a female driver, because we have to match,” Wright said.
Uber said the new feature could give women “more confidence.”
“We’re in a very vulnerable position as drivers -- our backs are to the passengers, our hands are on the wheel, we’re watching for safety on the road and no one’s really looking out for safety for us,” Wright said.
Uber has long grappled with preventing sexual assault on its platform.
According to Uber’s safety report, nearly 6,000 sexual assault reports were made from 2017 to 2018. By 2022, that number dropped to just over 2,700.
Uber said “most drivers are men,” so the company worked to make sure this new feature was usable.
“If there’s no female drivers nearby, it’s not going to work,” said Kathryn Kosmides, an advocate who helps survivors.
Kosmides said no matter who your driver is, stay alert.
“Always keep your window cracked enough that you can reach your arm out of it. They could have child locks on, so you can’t actually open the back door from the inside,” Kosmides said.
Uber has launched other features to promote safety in recent years, such as a hub in the app for managing safety preferences. CNN reached out to Uber for comment on the new “Women Preferences” feature three times, but they have not returned the request for comment.