Ridesharing app Uber releases new features in Atlanta for women riders, drivers, and teens

ATLANTA — The ridesharing company Uber announced that it is rolling out new features available in Atlanta for women drivers, riders, and teens.

The features, according to the company, are designed with women in mind—providing more choices, comfort, and allowing women riders, women drivers, and teens to request trips with women on Uber. 

The company said that the option was a top request, with about 75% of women riders supporting an option to match with women drivers. 

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The preferences were tested out in Los Angeles. San Francisco, Detroit, Phoenix, and Denver last year, and in Atlanta, women can begin seeing the new options in the app starting Mar. 9, the company said in a release. 

When adult women riders request a trip on demand, the rideshare company says an option called Women Drivers will be available, noting that if wait times are longer than anticipated, the option to open another ride with a faster pickup will be available.

For rides reserved in advance, women riders can use the Reserve option to pre-book a trip with women drivers. 

A preference for women riders can also be set in the app’s settings. The company says that while it’s not guaranteed, toggling on the preference for women drivers increases the chances of women riders being matched with one. 

For drivers, Uber says about one in five are women, and they now have the option to request trips with women riders, including during peak earning hours. Women drivers can toggle on “Women Rider Preference” under settings to receive trip requests from all riders, or turn it off to receive only trip requests from women riders.

Teens can also request rides from women drivers, a request the company says parents have consistently asked for.

“Women asked for more choice — and we built it with Women Preferences,” said Brooke Anderson, Uber’s Head of Product Communications. “This feature exists because women told us it should, and we are proud to expand Women’ Preferences nationwide and bring more flexibility and control to millions more women.”