Uber Trialing Innovative Option Allowing Female Passengers to Select Female Drivers
Uber, the popular ride-hailing service, has announced the launch of a new pilot program called Women Preferences in three U.S. cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit. This feature, which allows women riders to request trips with women drivers and vice versa, has already been adopted in over 40 countries worldwide.
The Women Preferences feature aims to provide more choice and confidence for women using the Uber platform. Women riders can now choose a "Women Drivers" option when requesting a ride on-demand, reserve a female driver in advance, or set a preference in their app settings to increase the chance of being matched with a woman driver. Female Uber drivers can toggle a "Women Rider Preference" to accept trips only from women riders, including during peak hours, with the ability to toggle this off anytime.
Uber first introduced a similar Women Rider Preference feature for drivers in Saudi Arabia in 2019, when women were granted the right to drive. The company has since expanded this option to 40 additional countries worldwide. The new expanded Women Preferences feature is launching now in these U.S. markets as a pilot.
The Women Rider Preference feature prioritizes ride requests from women, including during busy evening hours. If no female drivers are available, women riders can opt for a faster male-driver ride instead. However, the company is committed to continuing improvements in the Women Preferences feature through education, partnerships, and additional features.
Uber's VP of Operations, US & Canada, Camiel Irving, wrote a statement about the new feature, expressing the company's commitment to providing a safe and comfortable experience for all users. The statement mentioned that the company has been working on testing the feature with the most up-to-date technology to ensure a seamless user experience.
The Women Preferences feature has received great feedback from customers, with many women riders expressing a sense of security and comfort when using the service. Women riders can set a permanent preference for Women Drivers in the app's Settings, or choose to request a female driver on demand, schedule in advance, or set a default preference in the app. Female drivers can switch off the setting and accept all rides if they wish.
The pilot program will be closely monitored to assess its impact and effectiveness. If successful, Uber plans to expand the Women Preferences feature across the U.S. The company is confident that this feature will help to further improve the safety and comfort of the Uber experience for women users.
Science and technology have played significant roles in the launch of Uber's new pilot program, Women Preferences. This feature, implemented with the latest technology, aims to enhance health-and-wellness and lifestyle choices for women by providing a safer, more comfortable ride-hailing experience. The technology enables women riders to set preferences for female drivers and vice versa, fostering a sense of security and well-being in the ride-hailing industry.
