
As it works to make its ride-sharing experience safer for riders and drivers, Uber announced the U.S. launch of a new women-only feature Wednesday.
Women Preferences will allow both riders and drivers to be matched with only women during trips. The feature—which first launched in Saudi Arabia in 2019—is currently available in 40 markets worldwide and, according to Uber, has been used in more than 100 million trips.
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit will be the first U.S. pilot cities for the new feature, which is set to roll out in the next few weeks.
Uber said that when requesting a trip on demand, riders on the platform will see an option for “Women Drivers.” If the wait time for the woman driver is longer than anticipated, the rider can always opt for another ride with a faster pickup.
Women riders will also be able to request a female driver in advance, as well as add this preference to their application settings.
The ride-sharing company said that while it cannot guarantee that a woman driver will always be matched with a woman rider, the new feature will increase the chances of that happening.
As for women Uber drivers, the company said they can toggle on the “Women Rider Preference” in their settings to be matched with women-only riders. The feature will also be available during peak earning hours, like evenings, and it can be toggled off at any time.
Uber said making the Women Preferences feature work reliably required thoughtful design. The company tested, listened, and refined it in markets like Germany and France, adapting the feature to real-world rider and driver behaviors.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/uber-to-launch-women-only-driver-and-passenger-feature-in-us/

