Lyft’s Women+ Connect Empowers Women in Ride-Hailing
Ride-hailing company Lyft has introduced a preference feature called Women+ Connect, allowing drivers and passengers to prioritize female and nonbinary ride partners for enhanced safety and comfort.
The feature is available in several major U.S. cities, including Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, California. The company intends to expand this feature’s accessibility to more cities shortly.
The ride-hailing industry faces a notable gender imbalance, with women comprising only about 23% of Lyft’s driver pool. Under the leadership of CEO David Risher, the platform embarked on a renewed strategy to increase the number of female drivers.
“Over the years, one thing that we’ve heard from women drivers and prospective women drivers is that if they had an opportunity to match or an option to match with more women riders, they would be more inclined to try rideshare or if they’re already driving, they’d be more inclined to drive more,” said Liu, Lyft’s Head of Design.
Importantly, Women+ Connect is a preference, not a restriction. Drivers can prioritize female and nonbinary riders but may match with males if none are nearby. This ensures the practicality of this feature.
Once Women+ Connect goes live in a city, women and nonbinary passengers will receive a prompt in their Lyft app to opt in. By opting for “Count me in,” passengers can increase their chances of matching with women and nonbinary drivers.
