Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 03/09/2026 1:15:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the U.S. to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its ride-hailing platform.
The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it is discriminatory against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024.
The feature, announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app called “Women Drivers.” Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, and they can also reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance. A third option allows female users to set a preference for a female driver in their app settings, which would increase the chances of being matched with a woman, though it would not guarantee it. Uber is also allowing its teen account users to request women drivers.
Uber's women drivers can set the app's preferences to request trips with female riders, and they can turn off that preference at any time.
Uber, based in San Francisco, says about one-fifth of its drivers in the U.S. are women, though the ratio varies by city.
Two California Uber drivers filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber in November, arguing that its Women Preferences feature violates California’s Unruh Act, which prohibits sex discrimination by business enterprises. The lawsuit charges that the feature gives its minority female drivers access to the entire pool of passengers, while leaving its majority male drivers to compete for a smaller pool of passengers. The lawsuit also argues that Uber’s policy “reinforces the gender stereotype that men are more dangerous than women.”
Uber filed a motion to compel arbitration in the case, citing an agreement the plaintiffs signed when joining the app as drivers. In the motion, Uber disputed that its new feature violates the Unruh Act, saying it “serves a strong and recognized public policy interest in enhancing safety.”
“This feature is a common sense solution to a long-standing request from both women Drivers and Riders who told Uber they would feel more comfortable and safer if they could choose to ride with another woman,” the company said in the court filing.
Two Lyft drivers have filed a similar lawsuit against that company over its “Women+Connect” feature, which allows women and nonbinary riders to match with drivers of the same identification.
Uber piloted the “Women Preferences” feature in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit last summer and expanded it to 26 U.S. cities in November. The company first launched a version of the feature in Saudi Arabia in 2019, following the country's landmark law granting women the right to drive. It now offers similar options in 40 other countries, including Canada and Mexico.
Both Uber and Lyft have for years faced criticism over their safety records, including thousands of reports of sexual assaults from both passengers and drivers. In February, a federal jury found Uber to be legally responsible in a 2023 case of sexual assault and the company was ordered to pay $8.5 million to an Arizona woman who said she was raped by one of its drivers.
Uber maintains that because its drivers are contractors and not employees, it’s not liable for their misconduct. But Uber says it has taken multiple steps in efforts to improve safety, including teaming up with Lyft in 2021 to create a database of drivers ousted from their ride-hailing services for complaints over sexual assault and other crimes.
Uber says sexual assault reports have decreased over the years. According to reports from Uber, 5,981 incidents of sexual assault were reported in U.S. rides between 2017 and 2018 — compared to 2,717 between 2021 and 2022 (the latest years with data available), which the platform says represented 0.0001% of total trips nationwide.
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Offer a man only driver option and the problem is solved. I would much prefer a male driver.
Well, we’re back to defining what a woman is again.
Trans weirdos will ruin this like everything else they get around.
I wish they had an option of “English-Speaking-Only”.
Maybe call a TAXI?!?!
In Japan many trains have a woman-only car, so the women can avoid the possibility of harassment.
You should be able to choose what kind of driver you hire, but you know the left will never let the issue be settled until women are forced to choose women-with-[hanging genitals], etc., etc.
China’s equivalent of Uber tried this already, and it was a flop, the women drivers opted out because they didn’t want to pick up women passengers as they are typically less punctual, and more picky and prone to leave poor reviews.
It’s like the old Al Bundy quote. “Don’t try to understand women, women understand women and they hate each other.”
A sexist would sayyyyyy!
How sexist and misandrous.
Do I get to specify male driver only?
What would Norm say?
Is that DEMOCRAT weirdo’s nose growing
what with all of his Godless Reprobate lies?
I’ve only used uber twice, but both times it was a middle eastern male driver, which made me very uncomfortable. I’m all for genuine female drivers.
Are trannies allowed?
he was a very wise man
LOL
Men have the most accidents, especially fatal accidents. Here are the data:
• Total fatalities: In 2023, about 29,584 males died in motor vehicle crashes compared to 11,229 females — meaning men accounted for roughly 72-73% of all crash deaths. This trend has held for decades, with male deaths consistently more than double female deaths.
• Fatal crashes involvement: Men are involved in a much higher share of fatal crashes (often around 70-75%). For example, male drivers are linked to far more severe incidents, including those involving speeding, alcohol impairment, or single-vehicle crashes.
• Overall accidents (including non-fatal): Men are still involved in more total crashes in absolute numbers. NHTSA data shows men cause around 6.1 million accidents per year on average, compared to about 4.4 million for women. In one year (e.g., 2020), male drivers were in ~5.39 million crashes vs. ~3.72 million for females.
You’re no fun anymore.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.