Uber Expands Women-Only Ride Feature Nationwide

Uber has launched its 'Women Drivers' feature nationwide, allowing both female riders and drivers to be matched with each other. The option is part of the company's efforts to address safety concerns but comes amid legal challenges from male drivers who argue it is discriminatory.

The feature allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app. Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance, or set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings. Uber also allows its teen account users to request women drivers.

Uber's women drivers can set preferences to request trips with female riders and turn off that preference anytime. About one-fifth of the company's drivers in the U.S. are women, though this ratio varies by city.

The feature is being rolled out despite an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed by two California Uber drivers last November. The lawsuit argues that the 'Women Preferences' feature violates California's Unruh Act, which prohibits sex discrimination by business enterprises. The plaintiffs claim the feature gives minority female drivers access to the entire pool of passengers while leaving majority male drivers to compete for a smaller pool.

Uber has filed a motion to compel arbitration in the case, citing an agreement signed by the plaintiffs when joining the app as drivers. In the motion, Uber disputes that its new feature violates the Unruh Act, saying it 'serves a strong and recognized public policy interest in enhancing safety.' The company states that the feature is a common-sense solution to requests from both women drivers and riders who feel more comfortable and safer riding with another woman.

Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over its similar 'Women+Connect' feature, which allows women and nonbinary riders to match with drivers of the same identification. Uber piloted the 'Women Preferences' feature in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Detroit last summer and expanded it to 26 U.S. cities in November.

The company first launched a version of this feature in Saudi Arabia in 2019 following the country's landmark law granting women the right to drive. It now offers similar options in 40 other countries, including Canada and Mexico.

Both Uber and Lyft have faced criticism over their safety records, with thousands of reports of sexual assaults from passengers and drivers. In February, a federal jury found Uber legally responsible in a 2023 case of sexual assault, ordering the company to pay $8.5 million to an Arizona woman who said she was raped by one of its drivers.

Uber maintains that because its drivers are contractors and not employees, it’s not liable for their misconduct. However, Uber says it has taken multiple steps to improve safety, including teaming up with Lyft in 2021 to create a database of drivers ousted from their ride-hailing services for complaints over sexual assault and other crimes.

According to reports from Uber, incidents of sexual assault have decreased over the years. The company reported 5,981 incidents between 2017 and 2018 compared with 2,717 between 2021 and 2022 (the latest years with data available), which represented approximately 0.0001% of total trips nationwide.

Melody Flores, a single mother who drives for Uber overnight in San Francisco to care for her daughter during the day, said she frequently dealt with drunken male passengers making lewd comments. She now mostly picks up women coming out of late shifts at hospitals or restaurants and has noticed an increase in business due to feeling more comfortable driving into previously nervous neighborhoods.

Sergio Avedian, who drives for Uber and Lyft and contributes to the RideShare Guy blog, expressed skepticism about the feature's effectiveness due to the low number of women drivers, especially during overnight hours. He questioned whether riders would wait longer for a match with a woman driver.

Uber has launched a media campaign featuring star athletes like Alex Morgan and Jordan Chiles to promote the 'Women Preferences' option. Unlike Lyft's 'Women+Connect,' Uber's feature is not open to nonbinary riders or drivers, relying on the gender listed on their driver’s licenses.