SALT LAKE CITY — Uber says, following a successful pilot of their program allowing female drivers and riders to choose only to be paired with women, that they are expanding it to 26 cities, including Salt Lake City.
The program, called Women Preferences, was announced in July and initially only rolled out to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit. The company at the time said it was designed to give women more choice, confidence, and flexibility while using the platform.
How it works
For riders, they have three ways to choose trips with women drivers. They can do so when requesting on-demand trips.
Uber says that women riders will see an option called Women Drivers. If the wait time is longer than anticipated, riders can opt for another ride with a faster pickup.
Pre-planned trips can also be reserved with Women Preference.
Or, riders can choose to set a preference. When women choose this option, they will be given increased chances of being matched with women drivers, though it isn't guaranteed.
For drivers, the company says that they can simply toggle the "Women Rider Preference" in their app settings and start receiving trip requests from women riders.
However, the setting can be turned off at any point, and drivers will start receiving trip requests from all riders. Uber also claims it is working to roll out the option to drivers nationwide in an effort to bring more women to the platform.
Expanding the option
Another change coming is the expansion of the program to include users on teen accounts.
Uber says that since launching their teen accounts more than 2 years ago, they have been meeting with parents to gather feedback. One of the top requests, according to the company, is the ability to request a woman driver for their teen.
To help support that request, Uber says that in cities where teen accounts and women preferences are available, teens will be able to request women drivers. The option will also be available to guardians who are requesting rides for the teens.
