Uber's Women-only Option Goes Nationwide

Uber launched a characteristic Monday to let some women riders and drivers crossed nan U.S. to beryllium matched pinch different women for trips, expanding a aviator programme aimed astatine addressing concerns astir nan information of its ride-hailing platform.

The caller characteristic is being rolled retired nationwide contempt an ongoing people action suit against nan argumentation successful California, revenge by Uber drivers who reason that it discriminates against men. Rival ride-hailing institution Lyft is facing a favoritism suit complete a akin offering that it introduced nationwide successful 2024.

Uber’s feature, announced successful a blog post, allows women to petition a female driver done an action connected nan app called “Women Drivers.” Passengers tin opt for different thrust if nan hold for a female is excessively long, and they tin besides reserve a travel pinch a female driver successful advance. A 3rd action allows female users to group a penchant for a female driver successful their app settings, which would summation nan chances of being matched pinch a female but doesn’t guarantee it. Uber besides allows teen relationship users to petition women drivers.

Uber’s women drivers tin group nan app’s preferences to petition trips pinch female riders, and they tin move disconnected that penchant astatine anytime.

Uber, based successful San Francisco, says astir one-fifth of its drivers successful nan U.S. are women, though nan ratio varies by city.

Two California Uber drivers revenge a class-action suit against Uber successful November, arguing that by perchance giving female drivers entree to a wider excavation of passengers, nan caller characteristic violates California’s Unruh Act, which prohibits activity favoritism by business enterprises. The suit besides argues that Uber’s argumentation “reinforces nan gender stereotype that men are much vulnerable than women.”

Uber revenge a mobility to compel arbitration successful nan case, citing an statement nan plaintiffs signed erstwhile joining nan app arsenic drivers. In nan motion, Uber disputed that its caller characteristic violates nan Unruh Act, saying it “serves a beardown and recognized nationalist argumentation liking successful enhancing safety.”

Ann Olivarius, co-founder of nan rule patient McAllister Olivarius who specializes successful activity favoritism and intersexual harassment cases, said she believes Uber and Lyft person a beardown lawsuit against favoritism litigation because nan features reside an urgent business request to protect clients.

“Lowering a client’s consequence of rape — is that a business necessity? I would reason that it is simply a business necessity,” Olivarius said.

Uber piloted nan “Women Preferences” characteristic successful San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit past summertime and expanded it to 26 U.S. cities successful November. The institution first launched a type of nan characteristic successful Saudi Arabia successful 2019 pursuing nan country’s landmark rule granting women nan correct to drive. It now offers akin options successful 40 different countries, including Canada and Mexico.

Both Uber and Lyft person faced thousands of reports of intersexual assaults complete nan years from some passengers and drivers. In February, national assemblage recovered Uber to beryllium legally responsible successful a 2023 lawsuit of intersexual battle and nan institution was ordered to salary $8.5 cardinal to an Arizona female who said she was raped by 1 of its drivers.

Uber maintains that because its drivers are contractors, it’s not liable for their misconduct. But Uber says it has taken aggregate steps to amended safety, including teaming up pinch Lyft successful 2021 to create a database of drivers ousted for complaints complete intersexual battle and different crimes.

Melody Flores, a azygous mother who drives for Uber overnight successful San Francisco truthful that she tin attraction for her 4-year-old girl during nan day, said she almost exclusively uses nan Women Preference action and participates successful ads promoting nan feature.

Flores, 41, said she often dealt pinch drunken antheral passengers who would make lewd comments. Now, she mostly picks up women coming retired of precocious shifts astatine hospitals aliases restaurants aliases leaving parties. She said business has picked up, successful portion because she feels much comfortable driving into neighborhoods that erstwhile made her nervous.

“Especially erstwhile you activity overnight, it’s been bully to person that feature,” Flores said.

Sergio Avedian, who drives for Uber and Lyft and is simply a elder contributor to The RideShare Guy, a celebrated blog for drivers, said he thinks nan characteristic is simply a bully thought but he is skeptical that it will beryllium effective successful believe because of really fewer women drivers location are, particularly during overnight hours.

“Are you going to beryllium location successful beforehand of nan barroom and hold an other 20 minutes to get matched to a woman?” Avedian said. “For nan riders, it’s mostly astir really accelerated tin you get present and really overmuch is it?”

Uber said it hopes nan Women Preferences action will pull much female drivers to its platform, and has launched a media run featuring prima athletes including Alex Morgan and Jordan Chiles to beforehand it.

Unlike Lyft’s Women+Connect, Uber’s characteristic is not unfastened to riders aliases drivers who place arsenic nonbinary. For drivers, Uber said nan institution relies connected nan gender listed connected their driver’s licenses, meaning that for transgender women, their expertise to usage nan characteristic whitethorn dangle connected whether their authorities allows them to alteration their gender recognition connected documents.

In consequence to questions from The Associated Press, Uber said: “We consulted pinch various women’s information organizations and LGBTQ+ groups while designing this characteristic and wished that it is not nan champion measurement to service non-binary riders aliases drivers.”

Olson writes for nan Associated Press.