Women for women - ridesharing companies launch new solutions for female drivers and passengers

Uber has launched a program through which female drivers can choose to receive orders exclusively from women. The implementation of the new feature is one of a number of measures aimed at increasing the number of female drivers cooperating with the platform and reducing gender disparity behind the wheel.

Data from DRPCIV in 2020 showed that one-third of Romanian drivers are women, but the share of female drivers on the platform does not exceed 3.6 percent.

"The launch is Uber’s first step towards changing this and thus providing a more comfortable travel experience for both parties - both female passengers and drivers," says Iwona Kruk, a spokeswoman for Uber.

The pilot version of the product was launched four years ago in Saudi Arabia and has been very popular since. In Central and Eastern Europe, the option of choosing female passengers as a driver is available in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania.

In Romania alone, more than 5000 rides have already been made using this service since its launch in July, and several hundred women have joined the platform as drivers in that time.

"Since the beginning of its operation in Romania, the company has raised the bar in safety for the entire industry. A few years ago, Uber was the first platform on the market to introduce a real-time driver verification system, and as the only platform to have a special, dedicated team for cooperation with law enforcement and public health authorities - LERT, composed of former officers of uniformed services," the company said.

In addition, the app offers passengers many safety features, including Check My Ride; Share your ride with trusted contacts; Ride Check; Emergency Button; and Community Guidelines.

A similar feature has been launched by Bolt, who took the concept one step further, by applying it to passengers as well as drivers, Libertatea reported. Their Women for Women option is available both to women drivers, who can choose to only pick up passengers who are women, and to the passengers themselves, who can opt for a female driver for the same cost as a regular ride.

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