US: Uber releases new feature that pairs women drivers and riders

Women now have more options when it comes to their next ride thanks to Uber. Women Preferences, which matches women with female drivers for added safety and security, was introduced by the ride-sharing app on Wednesday.

According to Uber’s press statement, many female drivers and passengers have asked for the adjustment.

The new feature will launch in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit in the next few weeks.

Women Drivers will be among the options, like UberX, Green, or XL, available when ordering an Uber on-demand.

If the wait for a woman Uber driver is longer than other options, women can choose another ride option in place of a woman driver. They’ll also have the chance to reserve a ride with a woman driver and create a preference in the app for women drivers to increase the chances of getting matched with one by toggling to preferences in Uber’s app settings.

Conversely, women drivers will have the opportunity to be matched with women riders, including during peak hours.

Women Rider Preference originally launched in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and has since expanded to 40 countries.

The safety feature is one way Uber is addressing concerns raised by women riders.

Uber recorded 2,717 reports of sexual assault incidents, according to Uber’s 2021 to 2022 US safety report.

This is a 22% change from 2019 and 2020’s 3,824 reports. “Since the release of our first Safety Report, we have seen a 44% decrease in the rate of reported sexual assault,” Uber says in its report.

Uber also adds in the report that “the vast majority of Uber trips — 99.9998% — are conducted without any incidents reported. But even one such safety incident is one too many.”