Sexual assault: ‘Women in US will soon be able to request female drivers’

Uber has announced it is piloting a new feature on its US app that will enable female passengers to request female drivers.

The move is aimed at boosting safety amid longstanding concerns over sexual assault on its platform.

The feature, named Women Preferences, is set to debut in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit in the coming weeks, according to a blog post released by the company on Wednesday. 

This marks the first time Uber is introducing the option to its US market, following its rollout in 40 other countries.

Uber now joins other ride-hailing platforms such as Lyft, HERide, and Just Her Rideshare, which already offer services connecting women riders with women drivers.

“Across the US, women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips,” Camiel Irving, vice president of operations in the US and Canada, said in a press release.

In the cities where the pilot will launch, women riders will be able to access a new “Women Drivers” option, which will allow them to set a preference to be matched with a female driver. They can also pre-book rides specifically with women drivers through the app.

The feature is reciprocal. Female drivers will also have the option to prioritise female passengers via a new “Women Rider Preference” setting. 

However, Uber clarified that riders and drivers can still choose to connect more broadly with any gender, even when preferences are set.

Irving noted that Uber relied on feedback from other markets like Germany and France, where the feature had been previously tested, to ensure its effectiveness — especially given the company’s predominantly male driver base.

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Uber has faced years of scrutiny over sexual assault incidents on its platform. Its safety report revealed nearly 6,000 reports of sexual assault between 2017 and 2018. 

By 2022, the number had dropped to 2,717, although in the same year, five passengers filed lawsuits against Uber over assaults that allegedly occurred between August 2021 and February 2022.

The company was fined $59 million in 2020 by the California Public Utilities Commission for refusing to submit sexual assault data. That penalty was later reduced to $150,000 after Uber agreed to supply anonymised data under a revised deal.

In recent years, Uber has added several safety-focused features, including an in-app hub for users to manage their safety preferences.

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