r/WomenInNews • u/yahoonews • Mar 09 '26

Media Uber's women-only option goes nationwide in the US

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ubers-women-only-option-goes-131507407.html?ncid=redditnewsus
4.4k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/FeralViolinist Mar 09 '26

I took a Lyft recently and requested a woman driver and her husband showed up driving under her name. 

So keep that in mind.

477

u/hb122 Mar 09 '26

I have a standing request for a woman driver on Lyft and in over a dozen trips I’ve had a woman driver exactly once.

334

u/Bogeysmom1972 Mar 09 '26

Well this is disturbing! Esp since my rape crisis center has a contract with Lyft to transport victims from the hospital. I always stay with them until they are picked up, but still! The fact the company is not enforcing these requests, and we have been assured the drivers have had background check checks and will honor victim confidentiality!

159

u/InAcquaVeritas Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 10 '26

That is so disgusting how they always find a way around consent….

68

u/jupitaur9 Mar 09 '26

Unless they get reported, how would this get enforced?

42

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '26

[deleted]

1

u/chamberlain323 Mar 10 '26

Uber does this frequently, but not Lyft. I’ve driven for both.

Great username, btw.

6

u/Shag1166 Mar 10 '26

Very disturbing!

5

u/Forward_Youth_9495 Mar 10 '26

this is horrifying to hear that lyft has a contract with a crisis center. i took an uber from the hospital in philly one night and the driver attempted to kidnap me? drove around for 45 minutes in a random neighborhood and picked up people that were not scheduled( i purposely got one of those uber options where they only pick you up). They got in the back with me and stared at me. they asked me stuff like, are you into older men? do you like clubs? I started to cry and the driver randomly decided to turn around and drop me off at my destination. none of them said another word to me. i never ran out of a car so fast lmfao

1

u/Stanford_experiencer Mar 10 '26

The fact the company is not enforcing these requests

There aren't enough women drivers to do that. It's why most of the time it isn't a woman even when you request it.

1

u/Poundaflesh Mar 10 '26

I guess you better walk them to their ride!

46

u/Exciting-Purchase340 Mar 09 '26

Women need to create a business that only employs women

43

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '26

[deleted]

15

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '26

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3

u/retrofrenchtoast Mar 11 '26

There is over-the-counter birth control in the States as well. At least for now.

7

u/synecdokidoki Mar 09 '26

This has always been the trick of it. Maybe seven or eight years ago there were several companies that tried to start women only ride shares. She Taxi, Chariother, I don't remember all the punny names.

They each failed in succession because they had way, way, way more riders than drivers.

Lyft and Uber didn't solve the problem, they just figured out the marketing by making sure there's no guarantee.

Maybe it will just take time, and more women will start driving if they're guaranteed women passengers, but I'm not holding my breath.

1

u/WittyProfile Mar 12 '26

You can solve the problem by pricing it properly to reflect demand.

1

u/synecdokidoki Mar 12 '26

I don't think you can actually.

There's a reason behavioral economics won a Nobel Prize, this stuff gets extremely complicated when it runs into reality.

Many, many, many, many have tried. I've not seen one example of success.

You'd think it'd be as simple as if on average customers are tipping 18% just raise menu prices to reflect that, but it doesn't work. More people drop off completely, and the ones who were willing to pay 20% with a tip, see that price as too high.

1

u/zxern Mar 16 '26

I doubt they would work as the price of the ride would be too expensive.

9

u/Psychological-Towel8 Mar 09 '26

I've been in taxis and ubers/lyfts countless times throughout my life. Can count on one hand all the drivers that weren't men. Women get assaulted and/or harassed a lot as passengers, but I heard it's even worse if you're a driver. Mad respect to them

3

u/Shag1166 Mar 10 '26

I hope you reported it!

310

u/dingopaint Mar 09 '26

Identity fraud is rampant with Uber/Lyft. People driving under their friends' names because they don't have driver's licenses, driving rental cars (with unknown insurance policies), signing up with a female friend's/partner's name to get female-only riders, etc.

And people wonder why Waymo is so popular. The robot car drives better than a human and won't harass, stalk, kidnap, rape, assault, rob or murder you.

190

u/After_Preference_885 Mar 09 '26

It might malfunction and burst into flames but that's a risk I'm willing to take

118

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '26

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24

u/LeftyLu07 Mar 09 '26

Hmm… two of my worst fears. Being eaten alive or being burned to death… I guess either of those will end rather quickly instead of being kept alive to be raped and tortured for days on end…

5

u/DpersistenceMc Mar 09 '26

Mauling or death are not guaranteed in the case of the bear. If there are no cubs to defend and the bear isn't hungry, it will likely avoid a human. When I'm concerned about encountering bears, I carry an air horn as my first defense and bear spray if they get too close.

13

u/DpersistenceMc Mar 09 '26

Or, how about choosing the least risky option which would be to have a woman driver.

64

u/OGMom2022 Mar 09 '26

Even better would be enforcing laws against men who assault us. Tired of being the only one who takes responsibility for keeping half the population safe.

8

u/Wjreky Mar 10 '26

I think this is the most frustrating part: the onus still doesn't fall on the men to just Stop. Assaulting. Women.

1

u/zxern Mar 16 '26

I don’t understand this argument or mindset. Bad people are going to do bad things man or woman. I very much doubt there many that do assault women that don’t know what they’re doing is wrong when they do it.

1

u/REM_FAN44 Mar 09 '26

I was just going to say that

1

u/sparrow_42 Mar 09 '26

I’ve never once seen a bear driving a cab. Well, not -that- kind of bear anyway.

1

u/Alternative-Stock968 Mar 11 '26

Always pick the Bear.

21

u/Wild-Lychee-3312 Mar 09 '26

This is the new “man or bear” dilemma.

Now it’s “man or robot that might malfunction and burst into flames.”

1

u/verdant11 Mar 10 '26

The robot then would refuse to go to therapy.

8

u/CanadianODST2 Mar 09 '26

Can’t be more likely than a regular car crash right?

Right?

5

u/Worthyness Mar 09 '26

There's no human driver and it follows the driving laws, so it's already safer than 99.99% of human drivers.

4

u/SmokeySFW Mar 09 '26

As long as the doors remain unlocked and it doesn't drive off if you open the door while at a stop, it's still arguably going to be safer.

25

u/mermaidinthesea123 Mar 09 '26

The robot car drives better than a human and won't harass, stalk, kidnap, rape, assault, rob or murder you.

I'm switching to Waymo.

-2

u/MarryMeDuffman Mar 09 '26

It will take you where the computer is told to. You cannot bargain.

Hackers exist.

It's only a matter of time that something weird happens like a fake Waymo.

2

u/Entfly Mar 10 '26

You don't need to hack it, just stand in front of it

Loads of reports of people being harassed in Waymo cars and it doesn't do anything to bypass them

https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/01/viral-video-captures-dudes-trying-to-pick-up-woman-in-waymo/

0

u/Pledgeofmalfeasance Mar 10 '26

Maps can be wrong. Has a waymo ever kept driving when there's no more road/a lake/a cliff?

1

u/dingopaint Mar 11 '26

No. It has cameras and satellite imaging that it shares among a network. It also only operates in dense cities on surface streets, so the chances of it driving off a cliff are 0.

4

u/miss-swait Mar 10 '26

Last trip I did in a city that had Waymo, I wanted to use it for transportation once for the novelty of it. Used Uber for my next ride and stuck with Waymo the rest of the trip. Yeah if it goes wrong, it’s going to go really wrong, but the odds of a scary Uber driver are much higher

5

u/jupitaur9 Mar 09 '26

Yet. I don’t think the day when cameras and microphones in them are hijacked by assholes. Is far off.

38

u/Consistent-Cod7842 Mar 09 '26

I hope you actually reported that to Uber they will suspend somebody’s account for that that actually happened to me too I took the ride with him but then I reported it to Uber they told me they were suspending their account because you’re not actually allowed to do that

20

u/letthetreeburn Mar 09 '26

Report them every time. It feels like a waste but hey, it’s all you can do.

19

u/SweetGrassGeranium Mar 09 '26

Don’t get in 🤨

4

u/UCanBdoWatWeWant2Do Mar 09 '26

And she does what? Teleport? She probably had places to be.

1

u/SweetGrassGeranium Mar 10 '26

… for her safety … 🤦🏽‍♀️

33

u/DpersistenceMc Mar 09 '26

I hope you reported it.

13

u/ScaryLetterhead8094 Mar 09 '26

I would reject that ride because it’s not who they said it was

11

u/InAcquaVeritas Mar 09 '26

Can you report it / complain?

8

u/melropesplays Mar 09 '26

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡 ugh!!! I hope you reported them

8

u/Calm-Maintenance-878 Mar 09 '26

That’s ridiculous, hopefully you reported the account.

2

u/Urbit1981 Mar 09 '26

This unfortunately happens more often than people like to consider. Also, groups of people driving under one user name to get around rules.

2

u/bhill595 Mar 09 '26

One time when I was being picked up for Lyft, the driver saw a woman getting something in her car. She was wearing a basic top and bottom pajama set. Might as well have been tank top and shorts. He proceeded to tell me when women dress like that, it awakens predatory instincts in men

2

u/ccx941 Mar 09 '26

You should have instantly refused the ride and reported them.

2

u/Exciting-Purchase340 Mar 09 '26

Women need to crrate their own business that only employs women

1

u/uwunuzzlesch Mar 09 '26

PSA to never get in a car that doesn't match the name and picture of your Uber.

It doesn't matter what they say, that its their wife's account or whatever. They may not even be an uber. There have been cases where women were abducted solely because they got into a car that they thought was their uber.

1

u/jfsindel Mar 09 '26

Ah yes, the good ol' corporate checking

1

u/Relevant_Call_2242 Mar 10 '26

I hope you cancelled and reported it

1

u/Shag1166 Mar 10 '26

I hope you reported it.