Uber has just announced that it will roll out a feature allowing female passengers and drivers to request being matched with other women in select cities, and social media is already up in arms about it.
Featured VideoThe news dropped Wednesday morning, with a press release referring to the new feature as “Women Preferences.” On the passenger side, Uber will list Women Preferences as an option alongside the different types of Ubers (UberX, UberXL, etc) available and provide the estimated distance and price. Riders will also be able to pre-book with women or set an overall preference for female drivers, although Uber notes it isn’t a guarantee.
Female drivers will have the opportunity to toggle on a “Women Rider Preference” option that will only offer them women passengers.
AdvertisementThese options will initially roll out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit to start. Uber says it plans to expand the program in the future.
Safety and precedence
Uber already has programs like this in place in a number of other countries, dating back to its first effort to match female drivers and female passengers in Saudi Arabia back in 2019. After implementing it in over 40 countries and making adjustments based on feedback and usage, Uber says it’s ready to bring the option to the United States.
But they’re actually not the first major rideshare company to do so. Lyft already rolled out a similar option called Women+ Connect in 2023 in select cities. It allows female and nonbinary drivers to toggle on a preference that prioritizes matching them with female and nonbinary passengers. It has since been expanded to all U.S. cities in which Lyft operates.
AdvertisementBoth companies note safety concerns among drivers and passengers as a primary reason for implementing these options. Uber’s 2021-2022 safety report shows that the number of serious sexual assault reports made during rides have dropped since 2017, but that women were the victims 89% of the time.
Men are upset at Uber’s new feature
When Lyft rolled out Women+ Connect, male drivers immediately started complaining that it was unfair to them, that they would lose out on rides, and insisted that women don’t actually need a feature like this. The same thing has already been happening with Uber’s announcement, along with open misogyny, transphobia, and racism.
Advertisement AdvertisementA prior heated Reddit debate over Lyft’s implementation of the same feature had women pointing out exactly why something like this can be so helpful.
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At least one person on X had the sense to ask for the next feature Uber desperately needs to implement.
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