In California and elsewhere, women report sexual harassment and sexual assault from ridesharing companies like Uber. To reduce their chances of becoming victims, some women would rather request a female driver. Is this possible?
While the answer is no, RideGuru shares companies that only employ female drivers. Safety and peace of mind are essential for ridesharing passengers who feel especially vulnerable.
Companies that only employ female drivers
To keep from taking chances with Uber and Lyft, which do not allow passengers to choose their driver’s gender, female passengers may prefer to hail a ride from companies that only work with female drivers. Such companies include:
- SheSafe
- Safr
- DriveHer
- Sheba
- See Jane Go
Reasons for requesting a female driver
So, what level of sexual harassment and assault do women report that makes them want to only ride with female drivers? Some drivers hit on female passengers, and others were bold enough to communicate with a female passenger through either a text message or phone call after her ride was over. There are also instances in which female passengers reported assault or experienced an attempted assault during a ride, notes Alarms.org.
Personal safety measures
When women cannot specifically request a female driver, they take other steps to remain safe. For instance, some women never get in rideshare cars alone, and others let family members and friends know when they take a rideshare. Additional tactics include double-checking a driver’s profile and rating and carrying a gun.
As for steps ridesharing companies take to keep female passengers safe, some run additional background checks on drivers. Others offer a 24-hour critical response line.
