Latest news with #rideshare
CNN
a day ago
- Automotive
- CNN
Women will soon be able to request a female Uber driver in these US cities
CrimeFacebookTweetLink Follow 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.
CNN
a day ago
- 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.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Lyft Will Let Users ‘Favorite' or Block Drivers in Broader Loyalty Push
Lyft Inc. is letting riders 'favorite' or block their rideshare drivers as part of a broader effort to keep both users and drivers on the platform. Passengers can add a driver to their favorites list after completing a ride to increase their chances of being matched with them again in the future, Lyft said in a statement Thursday. It's also giving riders the option of blocking drivers to prevent future matches. Drivers who have been added as a favorite by riders will get priority access to their future scheduled ride requests.
Entrepreneur
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Entrepreneur
Female Uber Riders Can Soon Request Female Drivers
Uber announces the launch of a new feature in some U.S. cities that will pair women drivers and riders. Uber is set to launch a new feature that will allow women riders and drivers to request trips that avoid being paired with men. According to CNBC, the rollout will begin in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit starting next month. "It's about giving women more choice, more control, and more comfort when they ride and drive," Camiel Irving, Uber's vice president of U.S. and Canada operations, said in a statement on Uber's site. "After hearing from women riders and drivers around the world, it was clear: Many want the option to match with other women. That's why we're proud to pilot Women Preferences in the U.S. for the first time ... It's about giving women more choice, more control, and more comfort when they ride and drive." Related: Uber CEO: Autonomous Vehicles Will Take Over Drivers Soon Here's how it will work for riders: Female riders can utilize an in-app option called Women Drivers, and can toggle back to all drivers if there are no women in the area. They can all set a preference for women drivers, which won't guarantee a female driver but will increase their chances of being matched. For pre-booked trips, women riders will be able to reserve a ride with a woman driver. Here's how it will work for drivers: Female drivers only have to toggle on the "Women Rider Preference" under settings in the Uber Driver app. Safety is a big concern for Uber and other rideshare app users, so it seems as though this will be a welcome function. However, the company made clear that being paired with a woman isn't guaranteed. Related: Uber's CEO Says Drivers Have About 10 Years Left Before They Will Be Replaced In 2019, Uber released a similar preference choice for Uber users and drivers in Saudi Arabia. In a statement, the Uber Team explained, "The launch of this unique feature comes on the back of Uber's Masaruky initiative that aims to increase women's participation in the workforce through access to affordable transportation, in addition to increasing women's access to flexible, part-time economic opportunities through the use of Uber technology." The program was a success and quickly expanded to 40 other countries. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
'Terrified' young supermarket worker allegedly assaulted by Uber driver.
The ABC has obtained confronting footage appearing to show a young female supermarket worker being kicked to the ground by an older male ride-share driver, in an alleged assault.
