The pilot, which will launch next month in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit, is based on similar international programs. Although not guaranteed, the feature aims to give women more control and options on the ride-hailing platform.
What does the new pairing for women only do?
Women-only matches will be an option in the app settings for Uber drivers and riders in some U.S. cities starting next month. Women who use the app can choose to only be paired with other women for driving and riding. This lets women drivers choose to pick up only women passengers, and it also lets women riders choose to ride with women drivers, as per a report by CNBC News.
The company says that matches can’t be guaranteed because of availability, but this feature makes it much more likely that women who use Uber will be paired with each other. It works for both last-minute bookings and rides that have been planned ahead of time, which gives women more freedom and control over their trips.
What made Uber decide to add this safety feature now?
The choice comes after years of feedback from users and more and more calls for safer ride-hailing spaces, especially for women. Camiel Irving, Uber’s VP of operations in the U.S. and Canada, said in a statement, “It’s about giving women more options, more power, and more comfort when they ride and drive.”
After a number of reports of harassment and assault on its platform, Uber has been under pressure to make it safer. The new feature is part of the company’s larger goal to make driving and riding safer, especially for groups that have historically felt unsafe.
What other safety features has Uber added lately?
This isn’t the first time Uber has tried to deal with gender-based preferences. In 2019, the company started a similar program in Saudi Arabia after women were allowed to drive. It later added the feature to almost 40 other countries.
Uber has also added a number of other safety features in the past few years, such as real-time ride verification with PINs, more thorough background checks, and teen accounts with built-in parental controls. Lyft, its biggest rival, added a similar pairing option for women and nonbinary users in 2023, as per a report by CNBC News.
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These ongoing efforts show that ride-hailing services are changing how they think about safety, personalization, and responsibility.
Uber’s women-only ride pairing isn’t just a feature; it’s a statement. Uber is raising the bar for comfort in the ride-hailing industry by giving women more freedom and personalized safety on both sides of the ride. Users will be paying close attention to how the pilot changes the experience on the road as it rolls out.
FAQs
What is Uber’s new woman-only feature?
It allows women to ride with or drive only other women for increased comfort and safety.
Where is the feature being tested?
The pilot will be available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit next month.
