Women will soon be able to request a female Uber driver in these US cities

In a significant move aimed at enhancing safety for female riders, Uber is launching a new feature that allows women to request female drivers within its app. This pilot program will initially roll out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit in the coming weeks, as the company seeks to address ongoing concerns regarding sexual assault incidents on its platform. Named Women Preferences, this feature marks Uber's first foray into offering such an option in the United States, although it has already been implemented in 40 other countries. With this initiative, Uber joins the ranks of Lyft and other ride-hailing services like HERide and Just Her Rideshare, which also prioritize connecting female passengers with women drivers. Camiel Irving, Uber's Vice President of Operations for the US and Canada, noted in a recent press release that feedback from women riders and drivers indicated a strong desire for the ability to be matched with female counterparts during trips. Women using the app will now see a new option labeled Women Drivers, enabling them to pre-book rides and set preferences to be paired with female drivers. Conversely, women drivers can also utilize a new setting called Women Rider Preference, allowing them to request female passengers. Importantly, both riders and drivers will still have the flexibility to connect with individuals of any gender, even when these preferences are activated. Uber has gathered insights from markets such as Germany and France to ensure the feature operates smoothly, particularly given the predominance of male drivers in its fleet. This initiative comes as a response to the troubling history of sexual assault reports associated with the company, which saw nearly 6,000 cases documented between 2017 and 2018. Although the number of incidents reported has decreased to 2,717 by 2022, legal challenges remain, including lawsuits filed by five passengers in 2022 related to assaults that occurred between August 2021 and February 2022. In 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission imposed a $59 million fine on Uber for its failure to disclose sexual assault data, a penalty later reduced to $150,000 after the company agreed to provide anonymized data on such incidents. In addition to this new feature, Uber has also introduced various safety measures in recent years, including a dedicated hub within the app for managing user safety preferences.