In a world where personal safety can feel like a constant battle, Uber is finally stepping up its game. The ride-sharing giant is rolling out a “women drivers” feature in the United States, starting with Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

After years of being available in 40 countries worldwide, this feature allows women riders to specifically request female drivers, giving them more control over their transportation experience. It’s basically like having a VIP safety pass for your ride.

Breaking Down the Feature

Here’s how it works: women can now toggle a preference for female drivers in the app. When requesting a ride, they’ll see a “women drivers” option. If the wait time gets too long, riders can always switch back to the standard matching system. Drivers can also opt into this feature, choosing to exclusively accept rides from women passengers.

A Response to Safety Concerns

This isn’t just a random feature drop. Uber has been wrestling with serious safety concerns for years. Their own data reveals 36 physical assault fatalities in 2021-2022, and while that’s a tiny fraction of their 1.8 billion trips, it’s still 36 too many. Sexual assault incidents have actually dropped significantly, from nearly 6,000 in 2017-2018 to around 2,700 in 2021-2022.

Empowering Women in Transportation

With only about 20% of Uber drivers being women, this feature could be a game-changer for driver recruitment and rider comfort. It’s not just a safety feature – it’s a statement about creating more inclusive, empowering transportation options.

Uber might be late to the party, but at least they finally showed up.