Uber recently launched a nationwide “Women’s Preferences” feature for riders and drivers to increase safety. Here’s what you need to know.
Over the last few years, rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft have taken additional measures to ensure the safety of their riders and drivers. On Monday, Uber announced its latest feature designed to help achieve this goal: “Women Preferences.” The program initially began in the pilot stages in select regions of the country and has since gone nationwide as of yesterday’s official press release. The new feature essentially allows for women riders to request a female driver for their trip, and for women drivers to set preferences for female passengers.
Though there will still be times where men and women drivers and riders will be paired together for a variety of reasons—such as a lack of female drivers in the area or longer wait times for those rides—it’s a welcomed addition for many who have expressed safety concerns about ridesharing in the past. In addition to selecting a “Women Drivers” option when hailing a ride, Uber will also allow users to set a preference via the app’s settings for women drivers for anyone who feels more comfortable doing so. Teen accounts will be given the option of selecting female drivers in their preferences as well. These settings can be changed whenever someone wishes to disengage with the feature.
Uber is currently in the middle of a class action lawsuit in California that was filed against its “Women Preferences” policy. Several drivers for the company argued that the feature discriminated against men and perpetuated the idea that males were inherently dangerous toward females. Despite this, Uber maintains that it was an important program to introduce and maintain across the US. In the court filing, the company said, “This feature is a common sense solution to a long-standing request from both women Drivers and Riders who told Uber they would feel more comfortable and safer if they could choose to ride with another woman.”
The ridesharing company previously reported 5,981 sexual assault incidents from 2017-2018 in the US. That number decreased to 2,717 from 2021-2022 (roughly 0.0001% of the total trips taken throughout the country).
Here’s how the “Women Preferences” work
If you’re interested in using Uber’s new “Women Preferences” feature as a rider, there are a few ways to go about doing so. First, you can select Women Drivers when you’re requesting an on-demand ride. Other options are available for male drivers if the Women Drivers wait times are too long for your current needs. You can also reserve rides in advance with a woman driver if you’re planning to go somewhere at a specific time, like the airport or an event. Finally, in the Uber’s app settings, you can set a preference for Women Drivers to help increase the likelihood of you being matched with a female driver whenever possible. This is available for women and for teen accounts.
For female drivers, there’s an option under your preferences that allows you to primarily receive requests from women riders. This will also depend on what’s available during the hours you’re working, but will essentially function the same way where it increases your chances of being matched with another woman versus a male rider.
