Latest news with #CamielIrving
Indianapolis Star
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Uber rolling out feature to pair female riders with female drivers
Uber is launching a new feature aimed at making women feel safer while using the ride-sharing service, the company shared this week. The initiative called the Women's Preferences program, which pairs female riders with female drivers, is set to pilot over the next few weeks in Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Uber announced in a release Wednesday, July 23. 'Women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips," VP of Operations for US and Canada Camiel Irving said in the news release. "We've heard them − and now we're introducing new ways to give them even more control over how they ride and drive.' Here's what to know about the new feature − and how customers can use it. Once the new preferences roll out, riders will see an option for female drivers. However, the company notes that if the wait time for a the preferred driver is longer than expected, riders will still be able to change their selection for a different ride. Female riders will be able to reserve a female driver in advance by pre-booking a trip, Uber says. They can also adjust their settings to default to "women drivers" for future rides. The company warns it's not guaranteed women will be paired with each other, but making the change in settings increases the odds of a match. For female Uber drivers, the change presents an opportunity to solely work with female riders, specifically during peak evening hours, Uber says. Drivers will be able to toggle on the 'Women Rider Preference' in their Uber app settings. To receive requests from all riders, drivers can turn the preference off at any time. According to Uber, the feature is launching in the next few weeks, first in Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Uber doesn't have specific plans to expand just yet, the company told USA TODAY, but noted possible plans to bring the feature to new cities following the pilot programs. The company has already implemented similar features in other parts of the world. In 2019, Uber launched Women Rider Preference in Saudi Arabia, a year after the country granted women the right to drive following an approximate 60-year ban. Riders in the country had a positive response, the company said. That same feature is now in use in 40 countries and has led to over 100 million Uber rides. 'Making this work reliably − not just symbolically − required thoughtful design. Most drivers are men, so we've worked to ensure this feature was truly usable in different places around the world,' said Irving, noting Uber has tested and refined the product in markets including Germany and France. 'As a result, in a first for the industry, we're able to launch more reliable features that offer women riders multiple ways to be matched with a woman driver." On Thursday, July 24, Uber's competitor Lyft, announced a different, but similar concept that will allow riders to "favorite" a driver so they can match with them in the future. That feature will begin rolling out in select cities in the coming weeks and will launch in the U.S. and Canada by the end of August, the company said in a release.
USA Today
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Uber rolling out feature to pair female riders with female drivers
Uber is launching a new feature aimed at making women feel safer while using the ride-sharing service, the company shared this week. The initiative called the Women's Preferences program, which pairs female riders with female drivers, is set to pilot over the next few weeks in Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Uber announced in a release Wednesday, July 23. 'Women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips," VP of Operations for US and Canada Camiel Irving said in the news release. "We've heard them − and now we're introducing new ways to give them even more control over how they ride and drive.' Here's what to know about the new feature − and how customers can use it. How riders can request a female Uber driver Once the new preferences roll out, riders will see an option for female drivers. However, the company notes that if the wait time for a the preferred driver is longer than expected, riders will still be able to change their selection for a different ride. Female riders will be able to reserve a female driver in advance by pre-booking a trip, Uber says. They can also adjust their settings to default to "women drivers" for future rides. The company warns it's not guaranteed women will be paired with each other, but making the change in settings increases the odds of a match. How the feature works for Uber drivers For female Uber drivers, the change presents an opportunity to solely work with female riders, specifically during peak evening hours, Uber says. Drivers will be able to toggle on the 'Women Rider Preference' in their Uber app settings. To receive requests from all riders, drivers can turn the preference off at any time. Where will Uber's Women Rider Preferences be available? According to Uber, the feature is launching in the next few weeks, first in Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Uber doesn't have specific plans to expand just yet, the company told USA TODAY, but noted possible plans to bring the feature to new cities following the pilot programs. Uber touts success of feature in other countries The company has already implemented similar features in other parts of the world. In 2019, Uber launched Women Rider Preference in Saudi Arabia, a year after the country granted women the right to drive following an approximate 60-year ban. Riders in the country had a positive response, the company said. That same feature is now in use in 40 countries and has led to over 100 million Uber rides. 'Making this work reliably − not just symbolically − required thoughtful design. Most drivers are men, so we've worked to ensure this feature was truly usable in different places around the world,' said Irving, noting Uber has tested and refined the product in markets including Germany and France. 'As a result, in a first for the industry, we're able to launch more reliable features that offer women riders multiple ways to be matched with a woman driver." Lyft adding 'favorite' drivers feature On Thursday, July 24, Uber's competitor Lyft, announced a different, but similar concept that will allow riders to "favorite" a driver so they can match with them in the future. That feature will begin rolling out in select cities in the coming weeks and will launch in the U.S. and Canada by the end of August, the company said in a release. Drivers will receive early access to ride requests from returning passengers. The feature was inspired by relationships passengers and riders developed through the app, such as Monika Hannibal, who has taken over 350 rides to medical appointments with Phoenix-based driver Dina Garrett. The pair are now friends, the company said.
RNZ News
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Women will soon be able to request a female Uber driver in these US cities
By Lisa Eadicicco , CNN Uber is piloting a new option for its US app that will allow female passengers to request women drivers, coming after the company has long grappled with preventing sexual assault on its platform. Photo:via CNN Newsource Uber is piloting a new option for its US app that will allow female passengers to request women drivers, coming after the company has long grappled with preventing sexual assault on its platform. The feature, called Women Preferences, will launch in a pilot stage in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit in the next few weeks, Uber said in a blog post on Wednesday. It marks the first time the popular ride share app is bringing this option to its service in the United States after launching it in 40 other countries. Uber joins Lyft and other taxi hailing apps, like HERide and Just Her Rideshare, that connect female passengers 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," vice president of operations in the US and Canada Camiel Irving said in a press release. Women riders in cities where the feature is available will see a new option called Women Drivers. They'll also be able to pre-book rides with women drivers and set a preference in the app to be matched with a female driver. The feature works both ways; women drivers will be able to request female passengers too with a new "Women Rider Preference" option in the settings menu. Riders and drivers will still be able to connect more broadly with non-female passengers and drivers if they wish, even with these preferences set. The company conducted testing and collected feedback from other markets like Germany and France to make sure the feature would work reliably considering most Uber drivers are men, Irving wrote in Uber's blog post. Sexual assault has been a problem for Uber for years; nearly 6,000 sexual assault reports were made from 2017-2018, according to Uber's safety report. That number had dropped significantly to 2,717 by 2022, the report said, although five passengers sued Uber in 2022 over sexual assault incidents that occurred between August 2021 and February 2022. The California Public Utilities Commission fined Uber $59 million in 2020 for not handing over sexual assault data, but that fine was slashed to $150,000 after the company cut a deal requiring it to provide anonymised data on sexual assault incidents. Uber has launched other features to promote safety in recent years, such as a hub in the app for managing safety preferences. - CNN
Daily Mail
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Uber reveals new service to combat major customer gripe
Uber is preparing to roll out a long‑awaited feature that will allow women passengers to choose female drivers. The company will begin piloting its 'Women Preferences' program in the coming weeks in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, as well as Detroit, Michigan. The feature gives riders the option to match with women drivers or share rides only with female passengers. First launched in 2019 in Saudi Arabia — the year after women gained the right to drive there — the feature has since expanded to more than 40 countries, including Canada and Mexico, completing over 100 million trips. Uber says the expansion comes as demand for the feature in the US has grown. 'After hearing from women riders and drivers around the world, it was clear: Many want the option to match with other women,' Camiel Irving, Uber's vice president of operations, US and Canada, told ABC News. 'That's why we're proud to pilot Women Preferences in the US for the first time... It's about giving women more choice, more control, and more comfort when they ride and drive.' Uber is piloting a program that will allow riders to select female drivers and share rides with women passengers Camiel Irving, Uber's vice president of operations, US and Canada, said this feature will give more women comfort when they ride and drive Travelers will be able to make their request on demand when they see an option called 'Women Drivers.' However, the company has issued a warning to passengers that it may take longer for their rides to arrive. If that's the case, they can either choose a ride with any available driver rather than a female, or pre-book their ride. Riders can also set preferences for female drivers in their app settings. While this will increase their chances, it will not guarantee a woman driver. Uber users who are allowed to use this privilege now can open the app to enable it by opening 'Trip Planner,' and selecting 'Women Riders' when in driving preferences. Prior to its safety measures, Uber had been the topic of conversation due to issues regarding sexual assault. Nearly 6,000 assaults were reported between 2017 and 2018, which ultimately dropped to 2,717 by 2022. The company has not clarified the average number of assaults over the last couple of years, but there are currently over 2,300 sexual assault and harassment lawsuits against them. The company revealed that a female driver preference could make it take longer for a traveler to find a ride Uber has done its best to guarantee safety for its riders and even launched a 'favorite' drivers feature in 2019. However, it was not able to beat out other ride share companies in allowing riders in the US to select female drivers. Lyft made headlines in 2023 for launching its Women+Connect feature. The company hoped it would help encourage women and nonbinary riders to feel more confident in their work. It was also created after the company recorded over 4,000 sexual assault claims. The Lyft feature rolled out in select cities in Illinois, Arizona and California before expanding it to all areas of US operation. If Uber's pilot program proves to be a success, the company aims to do the same exact thing.
CNN
24-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNN
Women will soon be able to request a female Uber driver in these US cities
Uber is piloting a new option for its US app that will allow female passengers to request women drivers, coming after the company has long grappled with preventing sexual assault on its platform. The feature, called Women Preferences, will launch in a pilot stage in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit in the next few weeks, Uber said in a blog post on Wednesday. It marks the first time the popular ride share app is bringing this option to its service in the United States after launching it in 40 other countries. Uber joins Lyft and other taxi hailing apps, like HERide and Just Her Rideshare, that connect female passengers 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. Women riders in cities where the feature is available will see a new option called Women Drivers. They'll also be able to pre-book rides with women drivers and set a preference in the app to be matched with a female driver. The feature works both ways; women drivers will be able to request female passengers too with a new 'Women Rider Preference' option in the settings menu. Riders and drivers will still be able to connect more broadly with non-female passengers and drivers if they wish, even with these preferences set. The company conducted testing and collected feedback from other markets like Germany and France to make sure the feature would work reliably considering most Uber drivers are men, Irving wrote in Uber's blog post. Sexual assault has been a problem for Uber for years; nearly 6,000 sexual assault reports were made from 2017-2018, according to Uber's safety report. That number has dropped significantly to 2,717 by 2022, the report says, although five passengers sued Uber in 2022 over sexual assault incidents that occurred between August 2021 and February 2022. The California Public Utilities Commission fined Uber $59 million in 2020 for not handing over sexual assault data, but that fine was slashed to $150,000 after the company cut a deal requiring it to provide anonymized data on sexual assault incidents. Uber has launched other features to promote safety in recent years, such as a hub in the app for managing safety preferences.
