Ride-hailing platform Uber has launched a new feature across the United States that allows female riders and drivers to be matched with other women for trips. The rollout expands a pilot programme designed to address long-standing safety concerns on the platform.
The feature allows women passengers to request a female driver through an in-app option called “women drivers”. Riders can choose another ride if the wait time for a female driver is too long. The platform also allows users to reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance.
Another option enables female riders to set a preference for women drivers in their app settings. While this increases the likelihood of being matched with a female driver, it does not guarantee the match. The feature will also be available to teen account users who want to request a female driver.
Female drivers using the platform can also adjust their app settings to prefer trips with women riders. This option can be turned off at any time.
Uber, which is headquartered in San Francisco, says that about 1/5 of its drivers in the US are women, although the ratio varies across cities.
The nationwide rollout comes even as the company faces legal challenges related to the feature. 2 Uber drivers in California filed a class-action lawsuit in November claiming that the policy discriminates against men. The case cites the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex discrimination by business enterprises.
The lawsuit argues that the feature allows minority female drivers access to the full pool of passengers while male drivers must compete for a smaller number of riders. It also claims the policy “reinforces the gender stereotype that men are more dangerous than women”.
Uber has filed a motion to compel arbitration, pointing to an agreement signed by drivers when they joined the platform. In its filing, the company rejected the discrimination claim and stated that the feature “serves a strong and recognized public policy interest in enhancing safety”.
The company added, “This feature is a commonsense solution to a longstanding 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.”
Rival ride-hailing firm Lyft is also facing a similar discrimination lawsuit over its “women+connect” feature, which allows women and non-binary riders to match with drivers of the same identification.
Uber first tested the women preference feature in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit during the previous summer. It was later expanded to 26 US cities in November before being introduced nationwide.
The company originally launched a version of the feature in Saudi Arabia in 2019 after a law allowed women to drive in the country. Uber now offers similar options in 40 other countries including Canada and Mexico.
Both Uber and Lyft have faced criticism for safety issues on their platforms, including thousands of reported cases of sexual assault involving riders and drivers. In February, a federal jury held Uber legally responsible in a 2023 sexual assault case and ordered the company to pay $8.5 million to an Arizona woman.
Uber has maintained that drivers are independent contractors and not employees, and therefore the company is not liable for their misconduct. However, the platform says it has introduced several safety measures over the years.
In 2021, Uber partnered with Lyft to create a shared database of drivers removed from their platforms due to complaints involving sexual assault and other crimes.
According to Uber’s reports, 5,981 incidents of sexual assault were recorded in US rides between 2017 and 2018. This number dropped to 2,717 between 2021 and 2022, which the company says represents about 0.0001% of total trips across the country.
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