When Lyft driver Maria V. picks up one other woman, she feels “a mutual understanding, like ‘girl code.’”
Now, women and nonbinary Lyft drivers have the choice to pick out a rider of the identical gender through the app’s feature: Women+ Connect.
Women comprise 23% of the Lyft driver population, yet nearly half of riders, in keeping with a recent survey from the corporate, and this “highly requested feature” now offers a way of comfort when traveling.
“Women+ Connect is all about providing more women and nonbinary people the chance to earn money on their terms and giving riders more selection,” Lyft CEO David Risher said in a press release.
“We hope this offers hundreds of thousands of drivers and riders another excuse to decide on Lyft.”
Within the app, riders can opt to “count me in” because the feature attempts to match them with women and nonbinary drivers.
While there’s no guarantee that the system will connect drivers and riders of the identical gender each time, the in-app feature has been hailed as a very important step towards more safety and comfortability.
“It’s encouraging to see how Lyft developed the Women+ Connect feature — this latest feature will make women feel more comfortable driving,” said retired sheriff John Whetsel, who serves because the chair of the National Sheriffs’ Association Traffic Safety Committee.
Online, some pundits have praised the move by Lyft, including one user who described the brand new few feature as “awesome.”
Nevertheless, others railed against the move, claiming it might be a slippery slope.
“Can’t wait for the segregation by race,” one stated.
“Next you’ll give you the option to pick out based on race or religion,” one other jeered.
The feature, which will likely be available early in Chicago, Phoenix, San Jose, San Diego and San Francisco, arrives amid an alarming variety of attacks on each rideshare drivers and passengers.
Online, women have shared their safety hacks when using services like Uber, specifically planting their DNA within the backseat.
One TikToker put strands of hair and fingerprint marks in various places to make sure law enforcement would find them should she ever go missing.
From 2017 to 2019, Lyft reported 10 deaths and 4,158 cases of sexual assault, including 360 rapes, in keeping with the corporate’s 2021 Community Safety Report.
On the time, Lyft, which conducts annual background checks on drivers, vowed to “repeatedly improve safety for riders and drivers.”
