Transportation request app Uber has announced a woman-only service in Paris in a bid to make women and non-binary people feel safer when taking a trip and to encourage more female drivers to join the app.
The service, called ‘Uber by Women’, was launched on November 28. Female (and non-binary) users in Paris can now select it as an option in the same way as all users can select other ride options, such as UberX, UberX Share, Green, or Comfort.
Longer waiting times
Uber France has said that the service will enable around 1,500 female drivers to pick up female customers, day and night.
However it warned that waiting times for cars could be longer than if using other options as there are fewer female drivers than male.
The company estimates that waiting times will average around 15 minutes for an ‘Uber by Women’ service in comparison to an average of four minutes for a classic UberX.
If a female driver is not available the option will not be visible on the app.
The new option will enable users to select the new service, Uber by Women(c) Uber by Women
Extra controls and ‘more choice’
Similarly female drivers will also have extra controls.
As they cannot check that their customer is a woman or non-binary in advance, if they answer an ‘Uber by Women’ job and the passenger who shows up is actually a man the driver will be able to cancel the journey without any penalty.
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Men are not allowed in any Uber by Women vehicle even if they are accompanying a woman.
“With Uber by Women we are taking a concrete step towards offering more choice to women and giving those who feel the need more peace of mind during their journeys,” said Laureline Serieys, head of Uber France, in a press release, reports BFMTV.
The company is also hoping that the new initiative will encourage more female drivers to join its ranks, encouraged by the added control and feeling of safety.
“This is also an excellent way of making the profession more attractive to women who might not otherwise consider it,” said Ms Serieys.
The announcement comes days after Uber launched another option, this time designed to protect teenagers. The app feature enables parents to track their child's journey in real time and to require a PIN code to give to the driver, to ensure that the teenage passenger always gets into the correct vehicle.
The Uber by Women option is already available in several other cities, including Warsaw and Krakow in Poland; cities across Australia, and in the UK.
