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By Theo Burman

Live News Reporter

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Uber is introducing a new feature that will allow women using the app to have greater control over who they share their ride with.

The new feature, called "Women Preferences," will be trialed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit over the next few weeks, according to a statement issued by Uber on Wednesday.

Why It Matters

Women's safety has long been a concern for Uber users in the United States and worldwide.

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The feature applies to both riders and drivers, meaning women drivers will also be able to request trips with female riders rather than male riders.

What To Know

According to Uber, the "Women Preferences" feature offers several key functions:

• Women can select "Women Drivers" when requesting a trip or reserve a trip in advance with a female driver.
• Women can set their driver preference in the app settings; while not guaranteed, this increases the likelihood of a woman driver match.
• Female drivers can opt to only accept ride requests from women riders, especially during peak hours such as evenings.

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Women Rider Preference

Uber first introduced the Women Rider Preference feature in 2019, following the historic decision to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia. What began as a regional innovation has since expanded to 40 countries, enabling more than 100 million trips globally. The countries are:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Czech Republic
• Czechia
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• Ghana
• Greece
• Guatemala
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Lithuania
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Saudi Arabia
• Slovakia
• South Africa
• Spain
• Ukraine
• Uruguay
• USA

In addition to extending Women Preferences to the U.S., Uber also launched "Hope Rides" on Wednesday, a national initiative to help survivors of interpersonal violence access critical services. The program provides $250,000 in Uber ride credits to 15 Family Justice Centers in nine states, enabling safe transportation to counseling, legal aid, housing, and health care. This effort addresses transportation as a key barrier to safety and reflects Uber's broader commitment to women's safety through partnerships, technology, and community engagement.

What People Are Saying

Uber, in a statement: "At Uber, we believe that when we make our platform better for women, we make it better for everyone.

"Across the US, women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips. We've heard them—and now we're introducing new ways to give them even more control over how they ride and drive."

Update 7/23/25, 12:28 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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