Uber announced a new pilot feature, Women Preferences, allowing female riders in certain U.S. cities to request female drivers on July 23.
The update, created to promote user safety, pairs female riders with female drivers when possible. The company said the feature responds to women’s safety concerns regarding rideshare services. Using Women Preferences, riders can request a female driver through the app settings, which then automatically pairs nearby drivers with the passengers.
First launched in 2019 in Saudi Arabia, the safety feature was made available by Uber following the passage of a landmark law granting women the right to drive. After that, countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa followed suit. In the U.S., the feature is currently only available in select areas—notably Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit—but Uber plans on expanding the program in the near future.
“I think [the feature] has good values and a good mission,” senior Akemi Kwan, who frequently uses Uber, said. “[But] I personally haven’t felt endangered with my Uber drivers.”
Kwan takes Uber regularly to grab food, get to school when she wakes up late, or call a ride home at night. “Uber’s just reliable,” she said.
For many students, rideshare services are dependable alternatives if they don’t have their license yet or when parents are unavailable. “My mom, at first, wasn’t as comfortable as she is now with me taking Uber,” Kwan said. “Getting in a car with a complete stranger, having full control about where you go, can be daunting and scary. But once she saw I was getting to the places where I needed to be, she was fine.”
However, other students, like senior Yaretzi Calderon, don’t use Uber anymore due to parental concern and personal experiences. “My mother always tells me, ‘Don’t go with strangers,’” Calderon said. “So if somebody’s driving me somewhere I don’t know by myself, that person could easily kidnap me.” Calderon says she prefers car services like Waymo because she feels safer with a robot than with a human driver.
Calderon is one of many users who have at times felt unsafe during Uber rides, regardless of the driver’s gender. “[The driver’s] whole car smelled like smoke and weed, so we’re like, ‘What happened here? Was he smoking on the job?’” she said.
Other students, like freshman Lucas Chuang, believe comfort and safety depend more on individual personality than gender. “It depends on the actual person more than their gender,” Chuang said. “You could have someone that’s really weird, [and] unfriendly, but they can be both male and female, or someone that’s friendly and open, and can be male [or] female.”
Still, Chuang said the new option could make many riders feel safer. “It’s just like human nature that you feel more comfortable with your own gender,” Chuang said. “I think it could be like a progressive step and it makes the actual passenger and driver feel more comfortable.”
Many parents also have concerns regarding the safety of rideshare services. “I know my husband has concerns about the rideshare apps,” M-A parent Janet Jennings said, referring to reports of assault targeted towards female passengers. “That has colored my view of rideshares a bit, [so] I would want [my daughter] to use it with a friend, not just by herself.”
Uber has faced ongoing criticism about passenger safety since its launch. A 2022 safety report from the company documents thousands of reports of sexual assault and misconduct over a two-year period, revealing the need for stronger protection for passengers and drivers alike.
Reactions to the new feature have been mixed. Many women have praised Uber’s decision as a step forward in user safety, while some online users have argued that it unfairly excludes men.
As the feature continues to expand nationwide, Uber says its long-term goal is to give riders more control over their experiences. “I think it’s a safer way,” Calderon said. “Like I said, we don’t know these people.” For students like Kwan and Calderon, providing an extra layer of security is a step in the right direction.
