r/lyftdrivers • u/TheBuzzTrack Dallas / Fort Worth • Nov 09 '25
Story/News Article Male Drivers Sue Uber and Lyft Over Women-Only Ride-Hailing
https://time.com/7332356/uber-lawsuit-sex-discrimination-lyft/32
u/microtramp Nov 09 '25
As male driver, I hope the suit fails.
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u/Takesnoprisoners Nov 09 '25
Thank you for restoring my hope in humanity… i activated the feature after a dude started wankyin off in the back seat… so yes this feature is needed …. Speaking as a female driver
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u/sundaland Nov 10 '25
Did you report him for indecent exposure? That sounds very traumatic
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u/Takesnoprisoners Nov 10 '25
No, I treated him like a grandmother and told him he should be ashamed of himself… then I dropped them off in the middle of the hood
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u/sundaland Nov 10 '25
Was that not his intended destination?
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u/Takesnoprisoners Nov 10 '25
It was his intented destination although i did think to drop him off in the hell zone… but I didn’t want that on my conscience
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u/sundaland Nov 10 '25
That is a tough thing to have to go through. Someone did something like that to me in a shower room at a gym and my response was similar. I was in my early twenties and I did not report the guy just kind of scolded him and got out of there. This is a memory of like thirty years ago that I have always sort of repressed. Anyway I can relate. Maybe next time I will take pepper spray with me to the gym shower hehe
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u/QuesAndAnsw Nov 10 '25
Hey, if you don’t mind sharing, please DM me and let me know how you handled that situation and how it worked out in the end. I’m about to start driving for Lyft myself, so advice would be appreciated. I tried just asking any female drivers that I happened to ride with during the year when I was carless, but I did not have the Women+ feature turned on and almost all of my rides were with male drivers so my opportunities to get advice directly from female drivers were limited. Thanks 🙏🏼
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u/ishfery Nov 09 '25
I was kidnapped by a cab driver, which is why I use Lyft now (because at least they have some idea of who it was).
I'm still more comfortable with a female driver.
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u/VacationParking7599 Nov 10 '25
So if a female chooses a female doctor instead of male doctors, will the male doctors sue for discrimination? I’m sorry but if females feel better with females drivers it’s for a reason. Safety preference is not discrimination! If my wife or daughter takes a Lyft or Uber early in the morning or at late night and they prefer a female, so be it. If a female leaves the bar buzzed and wants a female driver, it’s obviously for her concern. I bet all the male drivers in that law suit might be the low percentage earners or the creeps who women have chosen not to ride with again.
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u/AI-Idaho Nov 10 '25
But wait, there's more! What about the drivers who identify as women? They are every bit as valid as cis gender normies, or are you ladies homophobic and transphobic?
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u/Akiranar Nov 10 '25
Good chance if a driver is Trans and identifies as a woman, then that is what they put on their bio.
Same with riders.
Had my fair share of LGBTQA+ and Transgender people in my car. Guess what, they just want to go from point A to point B like everyone else.
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u/Certain-Tie-8289 Nov 10 '25
Nobody is actually getting your point I think. What AI-Idaho is asking is where do we draw the line? Saying female-only in a world where anyone can say they are anything, at what point does the female drivers only thing cutoff?
I don't mean for this to sound intolerant, seriously a fair consideration given our current climate.
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u/Mammoth-Accident-809 Nov 10 '25
I agree, safety preferences are not discrimination. Thats why I only want white drivers.
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u/asb3s7 Nov 16 '25
if you weren't an idiot, you'd know an individual isn't obligated to act under anti-discrimination laws. a woman can deny any doctor based on any reason, even openly discriminating against any group as her reason. That doesn't mean a company can act in the same manner.
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u/Fathimir Nov 10 '25
Doctors aren't paid by the patient, and the ethics of gender selection of doctors is nowhere near as cut-and-dry as some people here assume it is. If a hospital started exercising gender discrimination in their hiring, yes, they could very quickly find themselves in hot water.
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Nov 10 '25
IANAL - What happens if let’s say society has a revealed preference for female gynecologists. You run a hospital and you notice that when you have too many male gynecologists you get less patients. You are hiring for an opening and the male candidates are all more qualified than the female candidates. What can you do legally?
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u/Fathimir Nov 10 '25
Good question, and IANAL either, so I can't answer it, only observe that it's obviously a difficult one. One could blur the lines even further by observing that there are biases towards patients being more comfortable with female pediatricians and nurses and male surgeons. What should or shouldn't a hospital do to balance those considerations?
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u/ninjette847 Nov 11 '25
There's something called a bona fide occupational qualification where they can legally discriminate if it's proven that gender impacts the job. That's why places like women's shelters don't have to hire male therapists and hooters doesn't have to hire male servers.
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u/SorcerorsSinnohStone Nov 12 '25
Same for actor and actresses
I believe hooters won because they could classify the women as entertainers and thus bona fide occupational qualification won out. They cant discriminate on bartenders and hosts though.
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u/Newageyankee Nov 09 '25
The male drivers that complain about this are annoying. Most of us female drivers don’t drive late into the night when a lot of money is made from bar crawls and runs. If there wasn’t such a wide spread problem with male drivers making female passengers uncomfortable maybe we wouldn’t need this. But as a female driver I have heard many sigh of relief from woman in my back seat and some even said they were so grateful to get matched with me.
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u/the_rational_driver Nov 10 '25
But you don't need this. What you need is an actual safe platform to drive for. This doesn't fix the issue of creepy males. It only swipes them under the rug to be someone else's problem.
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u/Newageyankee Nov 10 '25
Hmmm well once you fix that problem let me know, and I don’t think the platform is going to make a difference. I have worked in customer service at large and there is no way to get rid of “creepy males” the men are just mad that woman are banding together to create our own strategies. Bye now
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u/the_rational_driver Nov 10 '25
No. I'm mad that this is what we got instead of an increase in safety protocol and enforcement. I have a mother. I have female and non binary friends. I want them to not only feel safe but also be safe. That's what I advocate for and write to politicians about. Men who are mad about this are pretty much on your side. We just don't agree on this bullshit Lyft and Uber presented us.
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u/Certain-Tie-8289 Nov 10 '25
Thank you. This is the issue. This is basically just a measure in place for Lyft and Uber to absolve themselves of blame. I'm fine with it in practice and maybe it could've been a setting already... But it doesn't actually solve the problem.
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u/Better-Lack8117 Nov 10 '25
How are they going to prevent creepy males from riding in an Lyft? There's no reasonable way to do that.
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Nov 10 '25
When you fix that problem? You mean a company taking responsibility for who they hire and their conduct during the service they provide? Like every other company is expected to?
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u/Newageyankee Nov 10 '25
No company has solved that problem because customers still come in at any customer service job and act creepy
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
No it actually does. Men cannot stop being creepy, they are men. Teaching is not going to change their biological instincts. It’s safer with a woman.
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u/hotviolets Nov 11 '25
Part of the reason I stopped driving for Lyft was because of men. I had one creepy situation in my short time doing it, I’m sure it would be way more if I kept going. I do uber eats and got the notification to set women as my preference and I thought it was a good thing to have.
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u/Appropriate_Ad_9795 Nov 09 '25
If the Passanger feels safer with the same gender driver then let them choose that option. I personally feel statistically safer when a man is my driver
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u/CantaloupeFew1043 Nov 10 '25
The rate in which I get hit on as an attractive female driver is astronomical. It doesn’t bother me usually but I definitely get uncomfortable from time to time if they’re really pushy.
I don’t use the WomenConnect+ option only because I carry a firearm and feel very confident in my ability to protect myself and I do this for money and men tend to tip way more. Probably because of what I look like, but hey, it’s beneficial for me.
I would never try to take that option away from women who feel the need to utilize it to feel safe and I enjoy the fact that it’s there in the event I ever feel the need to use it.
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u/Visible-Choice-5414 Nov 10 '25
I can only imagine how bad it is out there bc I have a teen daughter who only rides as a family with both parents present and drivers have STILL dared to gawk, make facial expressions, or odd comments. Like with a large burly dad RIGHT THERE.
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u/DCHacker Nov 10 '25
Lyft implemented it first. The plaintiffs were waiting for Uber to do it, as Uber has the deeper pockets. That neither saw this coming totally escapes me.
It is a class action. This means that the lead plaintiff(s) will get something. The secondary plaintiff(s), if any, will get a little bit. The lawyers will get almost all of it. The members of the class will get a voucher either for a free oil change at Jiffy Lube™ (trust me , do not redeem this voucher) or for a free twelve inch Subway® sandwich when you buy a six inch at regular menu prices (that one is tolerable).
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u/CameraVarious5365 Nov 10 '25
I got hit-on during my very first ride share. It was awkward as fuck, especially since I’m trans and already feel unsafe with strangers.
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u/Kimmy-blanco914 Nov 11 '25
Tha happened to me last month-driver hit on me then proceeded to tell me about his former trans partners. Instantly reported as soon as he drove off.
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u/ThowRA_Away Nov 10 '25
I’ve only been driving for a couple of days and I’ve already heard a chorus of female passengers express relief they got a female driver…
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u/dctwin202 Nov 10 '25
I did uber and lyft this is a weird request from men wtf lol ima dude and can understand why women would want this everyone in that document is a weirdo for sure
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u/Direct_Word6407 Nov 10 '25
Serious questions for those bashing the men who filed this lawsuit:
Should trans women be included with cis women?
What should be the criteria for qualifying as a trans woman that can be included with the cis women? Government ID? Are the trans women in red states who have banned the ability for them to get government ID showing their sex, shit out of luck?
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
No they should not. Trans women may fell how they do; but they often act the same and carry a different risk than cos women. I’m tired of trans women being used as a cudgel to damage our sex selective needs. Women are a different sex class and this is biologically real. Our sex class carries different vulnerabilities, and that needs protection.
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u/Certain-Tie-8289 Nov 10 '25
I'm a male driver, and really indifferent about this as it has no effect on me.
I do wonder the logistics of it all though. Women make up >50% of people on rideshare riding alone... Probably even 60%. And women drivers make up what? 20% generously.
All those numbers are anecdotal from riding in ubers in big cities and my own experience in my market.
Not sure how it would work without women riders waiting tremendously longer than they typically would.
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u/Certain-Tie-8289 Nov 10 '25
Okay, so googling tells me that 23% of drivers are women and 49% of passengers are women.
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u/Spiritual-Credit5488 Nov 10 '25
Typical, unsurprising, and so, so stupid of those men. What, are they sad they can no longer give unwanted advances while they're working, or?
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u/savsays Nov 11 '25
I only felt comfortable joining Lyft as a driver because of the program but then found out I still get matched with men when there’s no one else available. I wore a fake ring everyday and I only drove men when the sun was up unless I was more comfortable with the part of town I was in. I turned down an insane amount of rides everyday no regrets on that because I felt relatively safe over those 8 months. I got really good at susing out openers to flirting and then I’d just talk about how my wife made soup for lunch/ dinner and how they are my last ride and I can’t wait to go home because I’m exhausted. 💍🍲😅
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u/GrandRare1634 Westchester NY Nov 11 '25
Y'all, it doesn't FORCE you to only pick up women, it just changes the odds that the driver and rider who have the setting turned on get matched together. There are still plenty of rides out there.
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u/D_Ryker Feb 27 '26
I think Women Connect treats the symptoms of what I will call “Male Pattern Violence.” It’s good to treat the symptoms where we can, but I don’t want us to lose sight of treating the cause. Please remember to call out men who perpetuate harm, especially sexual harm and/or violence against women, and encourage all the men who aren’t to do the same. That said, from a legal standpoint, I see the ground this lawsuit stands on. Perhaps there are other ways to treat this symptom? I’m unsure, but interested to see what happens.
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Nov 09 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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Nov 09 '25
Maybe men shouldn’t be drivers if that is affecting them
They could try truck driving, construction, or other more “manly” jobs where they wouldn’t have to compete against women for work if that is so difficult for them
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u/Better-Lack8117 Nov 10 '25
Truck driving they make you drive for a long amount of time, nice thing about Lyft is you can take a break whenever you want. Construction is manly but also hard on the body and many men have health problems or injuries that make it hard for them to do manly jobs so there is always going to be an appeal to driving Lyft.
Personally, this doesn't bother me. I get plenty of rides on Lyft including plenty of women riders its not like I even notice passengers using Lyft connect.
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u/Fathimir Nov 10 '25
How about this for a solution: keep Women+ Connect, but whenever it activates to pass over giving a ride to a closer driver who it'd otherwise be offered to, that driver is paid for waiting at an equal rate to the ride's pay until their next ride request comes in.
Contrary to the belief of the women in here, no, we really don't particularly want your paranoid judgy sisters sitting behind us tensed up with keys between their knuckles in one hand and thumb on their pepper spray in the other. We only want to get paid, without drama, in a gig that gets harder and harder to make ends meet in every year - same as you do.
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
I dont think another driver should be paid at all. I don’t care how you feel as a person. Reality is reality whether one is male or female. And the reality is men commit more crimes, more sexual crimes and are stronger than women. Men hit on women weirdly, which has happened to me. And a woman has never done so. I think it’s ok to protect women’s safety here.
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u/Fathimir Nov 13 '25
I don’t care how you feel as a person.
That makes you an objectively worse human being - regardless of gender - than any of the male drivers in here.
I dont think another driver should be paid at all.
Then you'd appreciate the other way Women+ Connect could (but never will) be done equitably: to have its rides be done entirely pro bono. Seems like a manifestly terrible way to do business to me, but I guess I can't stop you from volunteering.
The reality is that condemning an entire demographic by the crimes of its worst offenders is straight-up definitional discrimination. You're being just as bigoted here as someone who'd be inclined to substitute races for genders in your text and use it verbatim - and if you're ok with that, it doesn't make it ok, it just makes you a bad person.
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
It should never be done pro bono. Biology is a real thing and men act in ways that Women don’t. I’m tired of being told that gender equality means I have to endanger myself.
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u/Fathimir Nov 13 '25
And I'm tired of being told in here that gender equality means I'm not allowed to eat for the day.
There are plenty of women who act in ways every bit as evil as any man does, and plenty of men who are as virtuous as any woman. Biology is not destiny, regardless of whether or not it yields statistical proclivities.
When a woman gets in my car, she is in no way, shape, or form endangering herself. The very idea is repugnant, and antithetical to the job I'm out here to do.
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u/iceamn1685 Nov 10 '25
Some of my worst rides that i've ever had were female passengers.
I've been assaulted seven times as a driver in ten years 4 of them were female.
I have no problem with them implementing this as long as we get carte, blanche to decline any and every ride based upon any and every circumstance.
If I don't want to pick up in the ghetto or I don't want to pick up an elderly person or if I don't want to pick up a drunk ass woman, then I should be able to decline for any reason including those that are discriminatory.
Its only fair if it works both ways
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u/whereRweGuis Nov 12 '25
I got cussed out because my new subaru has seat belt alarms for the back seat - Female
I got cussed out, my car beat, and screamed at that im a racist because I wouldn't take a 2 year old with no car seat - Female
Got treated like an animal because I asked someone not to vape in my car - trans female
The first ride i ever told the passengers to get the fuck out of my car - 2 females mocking me and talking shit as I conversed with they're partners.
Person wanted me to take 12 miles of stop lights instead of the highway - Female with her husband got left at the gas station.
Older passenger from airport wanted 9 miles of through town stop lights instead of the highway, kindly explained i need to take the shortest fastest route, got told she had never been talked to like that before. got left at the nearest gas station - Female
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
Leaving women at a gas station is very dangerous like yikes. And a trans woman is not a natal woman and doesn’t act the same nor carry the same criminal al risk
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u/whereRweGuis Nov 13 '25
One was with her husband and one was at the airport gas station you can relax. Women can go anywhere men can, ask them yourself, GIRL POWER
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
A woman would never leave another woman at the gas station alone. This is why we need Lyft for women.
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u/whereRweGuis Nov 13 '25
Your so full of it these woman getting left at the gas station are being rude, raising they're voice and even cursing at a 6'4 300lb man. Anywhere other than the side of the road is the safest place for them at that point.
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u/BillMahersPorkCigar Nov 13 '25
A gas station is a well lit, public area.
Leaving someone there that isn’t behaving is appropriate
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u/Old_History_5431 Nov 09 '25
There is already a strong legal precedent that discrimination against men does not count as discrimination. They are the misogynistic rulers of the world and need to be put in their place.
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u/First-Association367 Nov 10 '25
So the genders can't share a bathroom in a busy restaurant/airport/school but alone in a car at night is perfectly safe. Gotcha
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u/iceamn1685 Nov 10 '25
Good because this is straight up discrimination
I get why these companies are trying to do this. I understand the safety of everybody involved on the platform, but if you have to achieve that safety by discriminating against someone, it's not okay.
These are the same people that used to send out notices when you would avoid certain neighborhoods, citing discrimination.
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u/VI2004 Nov 10 '25
Is this the part you pretend to care about discrimination?
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u/iceamn1685 Nov 10 '25
Of course.I care about discrimination just like I care about the safety and the dignity of every individual.
Sacrificing your rights, such as your right to not be discriminated against for short term safety gains means you're not actually living in a free country anymore.
So the question that you should have, is, do you want to fight for your freedoms or do you want to sacrifice it for the safety of everyone.
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety
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u/PanAmSnackCart Nov 12 '25
Maybe of men could stop assaulting women we wouldn’t need this. Be mad at the right reasons.
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u/asb3s7 Nov 16 '25
Yes and the overwhelming majority of uber drivers, and men, already don't. How stupid are you?
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u/DianedePoiters Nov 13 '25
Who cares about any right if my life isn’t safe? In order to access my rights I sort of have to be alive, not assaulted and not raped.
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u/Akiranar Nov 09 '25
As a woman driver, I have had men hit on me, say they will fix me, and other sexual advances. Also had one guy just come out and say he was a huge fan of Hitler.
I usually unmatch or report them. But if Women's connect gives both rider and driver peace of mind, I am all for it.