Women in select U.S. cities will soon be able to express a preference for female Uber drivers and riders in the popular ride-sharing service, the company announced Wednesday.
Uber said pilot programs will roll out in the next few weeks in Los Angeles, Detroit and San Francisco.
The company previously launched the system abroad, where women can request female drivers and riders in 40 countries. The program first launched in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and expanded after receiving an “overwhelmingly positive” response, the company said.
A spokesperson for Uber told The Hill that the company doesn’t yet have a target launch date for other American cities but added, “we’re excited to learn from these pilots and bring these features to more cities soon.”
The rollout comes as Uber has recorded thousands of incidents of sexual assaults throughout the years and has taken steps to mitigate the risk for women.
“Across the US, women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips. We’ve heard them—and now we’re introducing new ways to give them even more control over how they ride and drive,” Uber’s press release Wednesday read.
Uber is providing its female app users different ways to request rides with other women.
After verifying their own gender on the app, female riders will see “Women Drivers” as an on-demand option — along with UberX, UberXL, Black, Wait & Save and others — when they go to request a ride. Similarly, riders can reserve trips in advance with female drivers.
Both riders and drivers can alternatively toggle the preference for women in their app settings.
Lyft, a competitor to Uber, rolled out pilots for the “Women+ Connect” option in September 2023, expanding it nationwide in February 2024.
