By Lauren Ritirato, Staff Writer
In early September, Lyft released their new “Women Plus Connect” feature in Phoenix, Chicago, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego. This feature provides women and nonbinary riders in these cities the option to be paired with female or non-binary drivers.
Lyft is a long-time competitor with the popular alternative rideshare service, Uber, established in 2009. Uber has offered this feature since 2022 titled “Women Rider Preference.” While Lyft insists this update is to reinforce safety among drivers and riders of this demographic, some think that it may just be a power play against their biggest competitor. Even so, Lyft deems this feature “highly requested” by their drivers and users.
“I mean at the end of the day, it’s still a business, it does seem unlikely that they truly just opened their eyes only for the safety of their riders,” sophomore music technology, entrepreneurship & production major Avery Cochikas said.
Cochikas admits that not knowing the driver and their personality has kept him away from those apps, but he believes his women friends would feel much safer if they had the option to be connected with someone they feel more comfortable with.
Post students adamantly insisted that this feature should be introduced in more than just these five cities. Fashion merchandising and management graduate Riya has never been in an unsafe situation while using a rideshare service.
“This is something that should be introduced everywhere, it would make women feel more comfortable,” Riya said.
In 2021, Lyft released their Community Safety Report to the public. In 2019, a total number of 1,041 cases of “non-consensual touching of a sexual body part” were reported. In response to these allegations, among other extreme cases such as “non-consensual kissing of a non-sexual body part” and “non-consensual sexual penetration,” Lyft now performs background checks and annual checks on all drivers. Additionally, for the riders personal safety preferences, Lyft partnered with security company ADT, and added location and ride status sharing to allow rides to be tracked with law enforcement, family or friends.
“I think this feature would make me feel more safe if I was going to be in a Lyft on my own, but the reality is that I never go alone and that’s because of the dangers I’ve heard in the news” senior fashion merchandising major Grace Catanese said..
In light of the release of Lyft’s “Women Plus Connect” feature and the discussions surrounding its potential motivations, it remains clear that safety concerns within the rideshare industry continue to become a priority for both users and drivers. While Lyft claims that the new feature is a response to the demand for increased safety among women and nonbinary drivers and riders, some argue that it could be a strategic move against their main competitor, Uber. The call for such safety measures is supported by students at Post, who express a strong desire for the feature to be expanded beyond the initial five cities. Despite the debate over the company’s intentions, the underlying issue of safety in ridesharing is critical to the safety of all who are involved.
Catanese points out the real-world impact, noting that her decision to avoid ridesharing apps is influenced by the safety concerns she has heard in the news among both Uber and Lyft’s sexual assault cases. The goal is for these efforts to create a safer and more comfortable experience for all riders, regardless of gender.
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